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Statistics Canada (Statscan) figures revealed on Friday that the Canadian economy added 150,000 jobs in January, exceeding forecasts, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.0%.
The unemployment rate was expected to tick up to 5.1% in January, according to the analysts surveyed by Reuters, who also predicted a net creation of 15,000 jobs.
Statscan revised December’s net gains downward to 69,200 jobs.
The number of jobs added in January was the fifth consecutive month of growth, according to Statscan. The growth of jobs in January was predominantly driven by the core-age group of 25 to 54 year-olds and was spread across numerous industries.
According to minutes from the Bank of Canada’s policy-setting meeting released on Wednesday, the tight labour market was one of the primary factors in the decision to hike rates for the eighth time in less than a year in January.
After the most recent rise, the central bank announced that it would delay any actions to allow the impacts of earlier rate hikes to take effect, but it has not entirely ruled out further increases.
The Canadian dollar strengthened 0.6% to 1.3375 per greenback, or 74.77 U.S. cents.
Employment in the goods sector increased by a net 25,400 jobs led by construction.
Jobs in the service sector increased by a net 124,700, largely in the subsectors of wholesale and retail trade, healthcare, and social assistance.
After increasing by 4.7% in December, the average hourly wage for permanent employees increased by 4.5% in January annually.
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