The economy added 72,500 jobs in March, after hitting 337,000 in February, the Statistics Canada said in Ottawa on Friday. Unemployment fell to 5.3 percent, the lowest in monthly records dating back to 1976, from 5.5 percent in February. Economists expected employment to rise by 80,000 and the unemployment rate to fall to 5.4%. Friday’s report is another indication that the Canadian economy is facing a workforce downturn and will boost expectations for aggressive Bank of Canada interest rate hikes in the coming months – including a half-point increase in its policy decision next year. week. The country has added about one million jobs since last June. “The steady pace of recruitment strengthens our belief that the Bank of Canada will take action next week to defuse inflationary pressures,” said Royce Mendes, chief strategist at Desjardins Securities Inc., in an investor report. Investors in overnight exchanges are pricing about three-quarters of the chance of raising 50 basis points on April 13, followed by a series of additional increases that will raise the policy rate to up to 3 percent in 12 months. Last month, the Bank of Canada raised its key overnight interest rate to 0.5 percent from the low of 0.25 percent set when COVID-19 struck North America. Canadian government two-year bond yields jumped after the report, up 8 basis points to 2.46 percent at 8:47 a.m. in Toronto transactions. The Canadian dollar changed slightly to $ 1.2588 per US dollar. Job earnings also show the extent to which the economy has emerged strong following successive waves of COVID and lockdowns. The jump in employment in February and March follows the lifting of restrictions imposed to stem the rise in cases during the winter. Another sign of a narrow labor market seems to be the strengthening of wage earnings, with the average hourly wage rising by 3.4 percent compared to the previous year, compared to 3.1 percent in February. For permanent employees, salaries increased by 3.7%. Full-time employment accounted for the total increase, by 92,700. Part-time employment fell in March. Total working hours, which are closely related to production, increased by 1.3%. Profits were observed in both the services and goods sectors, led by the accommodation and food services sectors.
