The national unemployment rate remained at 5.8 percent in December as employment remained “virtually unchanged,” according to Statistics Canada’s labour force report released Friday.
Average hourly wages increased by 5.4 percent in December, compared to 4.8 percent in November. The pace of job creation slowed significantly in the second half of 2023 as employers added 23,000 jobs each month, compared to the 48,000 jobs added in the first half of the year.
The Bank of Canada will be looking for signs of a softening jobs market when it decides where to set benchmark interest rates in its next policy decision on Jan.
