OTTAWA: Canada's economy unexpectedly lost a net 1,400 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate increased more than expected to a 29-month high of 6.4 per cent, data showed on Friday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a net gain of 22,500 jobs and the unemployment rate to rise to 6.3 per cent from 6.2 per cent in May.
The jobless rate, on an uptrend over the past year, has risen 1.3 percentage points since April 2023 and is now the highest since 6.5 per cent unemployment in January 2022, Statistics Canada data showed. Excluding the coronavirus pandemic years, unemployment was last as high as 6.4 per cent in October 2017.
The statistics agency noted finding jobs was getting harder, citing signs including rising unemployment among youth and, more recently, core-aged men. The unemployment rate for youth rose 0.9 percentage points to 13.5 per cent, which, outside of the pandemic, was the highest since September 2014.
The average hourly wage growth of permanent employees, however, accelerated to an annual rate of 5.6 per cent from 5.2 per cent in May. The pay growth rate — closely tracked by the Bank of Canada (BOC) because of its effect on inflation — was the fastest since 5.7 per cent in December.
The growth in wages, which tends to lag adjustments in employment, can reflect a range of factors, including composition of employment and base-year effects, Statscan noted.
BOC governor Tiff Macklem said last month that the labour market had cooled reasonably in recent months, and achieving the central bank's goal of cooling inflation did not need to involve a sharp rise in unemployment. There was even room for economic growth and jobs creation without imperiling the bank's target of 2.0 per cent inflation, the governor said.
The Canadian dollar, which was largely unchanged in early trade, firmed 0.08 per cent to 1.3624 to the US dollar, or 73.40 US cents at 1242 GMT.
Yields on the Canadian government's two-year bonds dropped by 8.6 basis points to 3.966 per cent after the jobs report.
The weak jobs figures could increase the likelihood of a July interest rate cut after an unexpected uptick in inflation in May forced money markets to trim their bets for a rate reduction in July to below 50 per cent.
Markets increased their bets for a rate cut this month to 55 per cent from just around 50 per cent before the jobs report.
The central bank lowered its key policy rate for the first time in more than four years in June and said more cuts were likely if inflation continued to cool. The bank's next rate announcement is on July 24, roughly a week after the next inflation data is released on July 16.
In June, jobs were shed in full-time work, while part-time positions were added in the month.
Employment in the goods sector increased by a net 12,600 jobs, mostly in agriculture, while the services sector lost a net 14,100 jobs, led by transportation and warehousing and Information, culture and recreation. Overall, there were 1.4 million unemployed people in June, up 3.1 per cent from the previous month.