By Ismail Shakil
OTTAWA (Reuters) -The Canadian economy gained a net 41,400 jobs in April, far exceeding expectations, while the jobless rate stayed at 5.0% for a fifth consecutive month, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast that a net 20,000 jobs would be gained in April and the unemployment rate would edge up to 5.1%.
It was the eighth straight monthly jobs gain and brought the net increase in the number of people employed since September to 423,900, Statscan said. The unemployment rate has remained just a notch above the record low of 4.9% since December.
The employment gains last month were entirely in part-time work, which added a net 47,600 jobs, and more than offset the 6,200 full-time jobs lost. It was the first notable increase in part-time work since October 2022, Statscan said.
The average hourly wage for permanent employees – a figure the Bank of Canada watches closely – rose 5.2% from April 2022, the same as the March year-over-year increase.
The central bank, battling high inflation, has said rates may need to stay high for a while because of wage pressures in a tight labor market and sticky services prices. It left its key policy rate at the 15-year high of 4.50% in its last two meetings after eight consecutive hikes.
The average hourly wage for permanent employees rose 5.2% from April 2022, matching March’s year-over-year increase.
The services sector added 35,200 jobs in April, led by wholesale and retail trade and transportation and warehousing, while the goods sector gained a net 6,300 jobs, mostly in construction.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Thursday the central bank’s baseline scenario sees the labor market softening as growth slows, easing wage pressures and business price-setting behavior.
The Canadian dollar was trading 0.4% higher at 1.3480 to the greenback, or 74.18 U.S. cents, after the data.
(Reporting by Ismail Shakil and Dale Smith in Ottawa; Additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto; Editing by Toby Chopra, Tim Ahmann and Paul Simao)
