The Canadian economy lost the most jobs in nine years in January, pulling back after a robust 2017 and solidifying expectations the Bank of Canada will hold interest rates steady next month. The 88,000 job decrease fell well short of economists' forecasts for a gain of 10,000 and was the biggest decline since January 2009 when the economy was dealing with the global financial crisis, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
The drop was driven by a 137,000 decline in part-time work, the biggest on record, which eclipsed a 49,000 increase in full-time positions. The unemployment rate rose to 5.9 percent from December's revised 5.8 percent. Average hourly wages jumped 3.3 percent from last January, the strongest since March 2016. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, raised the minimum wage to C$14 ($11.11) an hour at the start of 2018, making it the highest in the country.
The job market is coming off its strongest pace of growth since 2002 after creating more than 400,000 jobs in 2017. Economists said January's hefty drop was to be expected after such a strong year and was unlikely to change the Bank of Canada's trajectory of more interest rate hikes to come in 2018. The jobs report can also be volatile month-to-month.
Job losses were heaviest in the services sector, which shed 71,900 positions in industries including educational services, finance, insurance and real estate. Among goods-producing firms, the construction sector saw the biggest decline, losing 14,900 jobs.
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