Canada job gains beat expectations and unemployment rate drops

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The economy gained 91,000 jobs, with 40,000 coming in the public sector, 27,000 in the private sector and 24,000 from self-employment, according to figures released Friday by Statistics Canada. Of the new positions, 56,000 were categorized as full-time.

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It was the third positive jobs reading in four months, while the increase in self-employment was the first since February of 2024.

Economists had been expecting the jobless rate to rise to 6.9 per cent with a more modest gain of 25,000 jobs.

The December gains drove the unemployment rate down from 6.8 per cent a month earlier, though it remains a full percentage point higher than last year.

Job gains were led by industries such as educational services, transportation and warehousing, financial and real estate services and healthcare and social assistance.

On a year-over-year basis, public sector employment was up by 156,000 jobs and private sector employment was up 191,000 jobs. For the year, the public sector grew at a rate of 3.7 per cent while the private sector grew at 1.4 per cent.

Over the past 12 months, growth in healthcare and social assistance and educational services accounted for nearly half the employment gains. Overall, the labour market ended 2024 with 413,000 more people working in December than the year before.

The employment rate rose to 60.8 per cent, the first increase since January 2023. Statistics Canada attributed the rise in the employment rate to slower population growth in the second half of 2024. On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down 0.9 per cent compared to the year before.

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The youth unemployment rate rose by 0.5 per cent during the month to 14.4 per cent. The youth jobless rate has gained 1.6 percentage points in November and December, nearly erasing the declines in September and October.

Average hourly wages rose 3.8 per cent on a year-over-year basis, after growing by 4.1 per cent in November. In December, hourly wage growth was at its slowest pace since May 2022.

Given recent tariff threats by the incoming U.S. administration, Statistics Canada noted around 1.8 million people worked in industries where 35 per cent or more of jobs depend on U.S. demand for Canadian exports. The industries with the most jobs dependent on U.S. demand include oil and gas extraction, pipeline transportation, primary metal manufacturing and transportation equipment manufacturing.

• Email: jgowling@postmedia.com

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