Canadian employment was unchanged in February while the national unemployment rate ticked 0.2 points higher to 6.8 per cent. Total hours worked, which is strongly correlated with economic growth, grew by a modest 0.2 per cent compared to February 2014. Overall, today's jobs report was good enough that the Bank of Canada may hold off on further easing at its April meeting. As expected, employment weakness occurred in oil producing provinces, particularly Alberta which lost 14,000 jobs, but other provinces saw significant gains. Moreover, Weekly wage growth, a key indicator for inflation, held firm along its three month trend of about 2 per cent measured year-over-year.
In BC, employment declined by 7,000 jobs, erasing the gains from January. Full-time employment fell by 16,500 after rising by 12,800 in January while part-time employment was up 9,600. The provincial unemployment rate rose for the second consecutive month, jumping 0.4 points to 6.0 per cent.
Copyright BCREA - reprinted with permission
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