Economics

Canada’s Labor Market Is Off to Its Best Start Since 1981

  • Economy adds 55,900 new jobs, all of them full-time positions
  • Data is lone bright spot for a nation facing sharp slowdown
Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg
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Canada’s economy posted its second-straight surprise job surge, making the labor market a lone bright spot for an economy in the middle of a sharp slowdown.

Employment increased by 55,900Bloomberg Terminal in February, all full-time jobs, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa, building on a 66,800 gain in January. The two-month gain is the best start to a year since 1981. Canada’s economy has added 290,000 jobs since August, the largest six-month increase since the early 2000s. The Canadian dollar jumped on the news.