Canada jobless rate declines to 5-month low in November, labor market seems in sync with overall economy

The jobless rate in Canada declined to a 5-month low in November, as part-time employment drove the workforce, against full-time employment which witnessed a fall. However, the data showed that the country’s labor market is flowing in sync with the overall growth of the economy.

Canadian labour markets defied expectations again in November as a net 10.7k jobs were added. The unemployment rate fell to 6.8 percent as less Canadians looked for work in November, data released by Statistics Canada showed Friday. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a loss of 20,000 jobs and said the jobless rate would stay at 7.0 percent.

Part-time employment was again the driver of job creation, up 19.4k net positions. On the other hand, full-time employment fell 8.7k. Employment growth was led by the service-producing side of the economy (+31.2k), with healthy gains reported in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (+13.6k), and information, culture, and recreation (+12.7k). In contrast, the goods sector saw net job losses (-20.6k), as construction (-14.4k) and manufacturing (-11.9k) recorded sharp job losses, the data showed.

Full-time employment as a share of the total is now at its lowest level since February 2011, and wage growth has softened markedly.

Meanwhile, the USD/CAD currency pair has formed a bearish 'shooting star' pattern at 1.33, up 0.24 percent.