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Economics

Jobs Gain in Canada Doubles Expectations, Testing Central Bank

  • Economy adds 21,800 positions; unemployment rate holds at 5%
  • Wages for permanent workers rise 5.4%, highest since November
A worker powder coats a pole at a facility in Toronto.

A worker powder coats a pole at a facility in Toronto.

Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg
Updated on

Canadian employment grew more than expected for a third straight month, underscoring a resilient labor market that’s at odds with expectations of an economic slowdown and the central bank’s rate pause.

The economy added 21,800 jobs in February while the unemployment rate held at 5%, near a record low, as the number of employees grew in the private sector, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The figures beat expectations in a Bloomberg survey of economists for a small increase of 10,000 positions and a jobless rate of 5.1%.