Statistics Canada prepares to publish employment figures for December

Statistics Canada to Announce December Employment Data

This morning, Statistics Canada will publish its latest report on the country's labour market for December. According to a Reuters poll, economists anticipate a decrease of 5,000 jobs for the month, which would nudge the national unemployment rate up to 6.6 percent by year’s end.

Despite recent months showing unexpected strength—with approximately 181,000 new jobs created between September and November—analysts at RBC predict a more significant decline for December. They forecast a loss of 35,000 jobs, which would counterbalance November’s surprising gains. RBC also projects the unemployment rate could rise further to 6.8 percent for December, though they note that the...