The Canadian Labor Market managed to add more jobs than expected in the month when the government lifted the Covid-19 ban imposed aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron variant.
Canada managed to add 336,600 jobs in February. This figure was beyond the expectations of economists and managed to recoup previously recorded losses. Economists only expect an increase of 127,500. The unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, from 6.5% in January.
Restrictions to halt the previous Omicron wave have blocked a 7-month consecutive job increase in Canada but a report Friday showed a rapid recovery after provinces across the country began easing pandemic containment measures.
That puts the economy back against what the Bank of Canada believes is full capacity, and will strengthen expectations for as many as six more interest rate hikes this year after the central bank began a cycle of rate hikes earlier this month.
Tight labor markets have continued throughout the Omicron wave, with unemployment rates remaining below pre-pandemic levels in Canada including Alberta and British Columbia, according to a March 10 report from RBC Economics.
The country lost about 200,000 jobs in January, mostly in pandemic-prone sectors such as hospitality and restaurants. The industry posted its biggest gain in February, with an increase of 12.6%.
The Canadian currency continued to strengthen against the US dollar with USD/CAD declining by 0.42% to 1.2714.
