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Canada: Economy adds 15.3K jobs in April versus 55K median forecast

The Canadian economy added 15,300 jobs in April, the latest data released by Statistics Canada revealed on Friday. That was below expectations for a 55,000 job gain and marked a substantial slowdown after March's 72,500 job gain. In terms of the job breakdown, full-time employment fell by 31,600 in April versus a 47,100 rise in part-time employment. 

The Unemployment Rate fell as expected to 5.2% from 5.3% in March, but this was driven by a surprise fall in the Participation Rate from 65.4% in March to 65.3% in April. 

Market Reaction

The loonie saw a choppy reaction to the latest jobs report, and USD/CAD continues to trade flat in the 1.2830s versus pre-data release levels.  

Author

Joel Frank

Joel Frank

Independent Analyst

Joel Frank is an economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and has worked as a full-time financial market analyst since 2018, specialising in the coverage of how developments in the global economy impact financial asset

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