January Sees a Slight Improvement in Canada's Unemployment Figures

In a recent update from Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate in Canada has shown a modest decline to 6.6% in January, marking a 0.1 percentage point decrease from the previous month. This improvement is primarily attributed to a significant drop in the unemployment rate among individuals aged 15 to 24, which fell by 0.6 percentage points to 13.6%.

Employment Rate and Wage Growth on the Rise

Accompanying the decrease in unemployment, the employment rate saw a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points, reaching 61.1%. The manufacturing sector led the way in job creation, with a notable 1.8% increase in hires. Additionally, average hourly wages experienced a healthy year-over-year growth of 3.5%, amounting to an increase of 1.23 Canadian dollars, bringing the average to 35.99 Canadian dollars.

Year-Over-Year Unemployment Figures Show a Significant Jump

Despite the positive monthly trends, the total number of unemployed individuals in January stood at 1.5 million, which represents a 20.2% increase compared to the same month last year. This highlights the ongoing challenges in the job market, despite recent improvements.