Modest Job Gains Soften Rate Hike Expectations

(Reuters – Louise Egan)

Fewer Canadians returned to work in March than expected but the three-month hiring trend was the strongest since the financial crisis intensified in the autumn of 2008, suggesting the recovery is entrenched.

In the first disappointing employment report since December, the economy added 17,900 net jobs in March, following gains of 20,900 in February and 43,000 in January, according to Statistics Canada on Friday. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a gain of 25,000 positions.

The modest employment gains takes some pressure off the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates and brought markets back to earth after speculation of a hike as early as June. The Canadian dollar fell as low as C$1.0084, or 99.17 U.S. cents after the report, before partially retracing its steps. It was near parity with the U.S. dollar just before the data.

Read more here. Summary statistics and links to the data files are on the Statistics Canada website.