News Workforce Statistics
Canada expected to cap strong employment year with 25,000 jobs added in December

Canada is expected to cap 2019 with a stronger jobs report in December than the weak performance in the prior month.

Economists on average expect the addition of about 25,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dipping to 5.8 per cent, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.

That compared to a surprise loss of 71,200 jobs in November and a 5.9 per cent jobless rate to mark the worst monthly drop since the financial crisis.

Statistics Canada will release its labour market results on the same day that the U.S. is expected to say about 150,000 jobs were added south of the border.

Even with November’s significant job losses, the Canadian labour market added 293,000 new jobs in the first 11 months of the year.

Wages rose 4.3 per cent during the period, helped by comparative softness in late 2018, says a TD Economics report.

Still, TD says troubling signs began to emerge late in the year, especially with a loss of private-sector in November.