Canada’s unemployment rate has decreased over the past year by 0.2 per cent, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey data.
The resulting 5.6 per cent unemployment rate is the lowest the country has seen since 1976, when similar data was first available.
December 2018 saw an increase of 9,300 jobs, namely a boom in part-time and self-employed positions, while the number of full-time positions decreased. This means that the growth in the labour force has roughly matched the growth in job availability.
The Bank of Canada will likely not increase interest rates any time soon, however, since yearly wage increases have roughly matched inflation at an annual increase of 1.5 per cent. The recent upturn in the job market is nonetheless a good sign for 2019 if the trend can continue.