Canada adds 37,000 jobs in January, unemployment falls to 5.7%

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Canada's employment increased by 37,000 in January, following three months of little change, according to official figures released Friday by Statistics Canada.

The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 5.7%, marking the first decline since December 2022.

The figure came in lower than the market expectation of 5.9%.

Employment gains in January were led by wholesale and retail trade with an increase of 31,000, or +1.1%, followed by finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing with 28,000, or 2.1%, according to Statistics Canada.

However, accommodation and food services saw a decline of 30,000, or 2.7%.

The participation rate, which is the proportion of the population that is employed, fell by 0.2 percentage point to 65.3% last month.

Average hourly wages, annually, increased 5.3% in January, following an increase of 5.4% in December 2023.