Canada: Unemployment rate likely to edge up slightly in December – ING

Analysts at ING suggest that Canada’s unemployment rate should edge up slightly in December to 5.7% while wage growth could soften the figure (again) if we see another deceleration.

Key Quotes

“Our medium-term growth outlook, and thus demand for labour, has been dampened slightly by Canada’s energy sector. Transportation constraints and inventory build-ups have triggered cutbacks in production. The central bank pointed out that the sector will be “materially weaker than expected” in their December press release.”

“Employment should be supported by the new non-medicinal cannabis market, legalised mid-October. The scope for growth is large and in turn so are hiring prospects – November saw an annual increase of 266% in cannabis-related jobs. This should help keep the unemployment rate relatively low.”