- Employment rose 81,000 in August
- Part-time jobs accounted for most of the increase
- Unemployment was steady at 5.7% and wages continued to rise at a healthy clip
Canadian economic data have surprised to the upside recently and this morning’s jobs numbers kept that rolling with an unexpectedly strong 81,000 increase in August. Impressive job gains are nothing new—average employment growth over the last year is running at its strongest pace since 2003. August’s gain was skewed toward part-time (and younger workers) but trends in full-time and private employment have been healthy. Job gains have been aided by strong population growth and labour force participation, with the unemployment rate settling in a 5.5-5.8% range (as good as it gets when you look at the past 50 years). Wage growth, long the missing ingredient in Canada’s strengthening labour market, has firmed nicely. The LFS measure has been close to 4% in Q3, while a broader array of wage indicators was around 3% in Q2 (about consistent with full employment and 2% inflation). Overall, today’s jobs numbers will leave the BoC comfortable with its more neutral than expected stance taken this week. Markets seem to agree, with the Canadian dollar strengthening further this morning.
