Employment increased by 37,000 in Canada in January, after three months of little change, and the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 5.7%.
It was the first drop in the national unemployment rate since December 2022, according to Statistics Canada. There has been an upward trend for most of 2023, with the rate increasing from 5.1% in April to 5.8% in December.
The federal agency adds that in Quebec, employment changed little for a fourth consecutive month in January and that the unemployment rate remained unchanged compared to the previous month, at 4.5%.
Employment increased by 0.03% in Ontario. In Nova Scotia, it increased by 0.7%, but from December to January, the unemployment rate jumped from 5.9% to 7%.
Statistics Canada observed that employment increases were spread across several service sectors, particularly in wholesale and retail trade as well as finance, insurance, real estate services and rental services. and leasing. At the same time, declines were observed in other sectors, particularly in accommodation and food services, where there was a decline of 2.7%.
Compared to the previous month, the unemployment rate increased in New Brunswick, from 6.3% to 6.6%. Meanwhile, it declined in Prince Edward Island, from 8.1% to 7.4%.
Statistics Canada also reports that last month in the country, the average hourly wage of employees increased by 5.3% compared to a year earlier to reach $34.75, after increasing by 5.4% last December.