Canada April employment 41.4K versus 20.0K estimate

• Prior month 34.7K
• Employment gain for April 41.4K vs 20.0K estimate
• Unemployment rate 5.0% versus 5.1% expected
• Full-time employment -6.2K versus 18.8 K last month
• Part-time employment 47.6K versus 15.9 K last month
• Participation rate 65.6% vs 65.6% last month
• Average hourly wages permanent employees 5.2% versus 5.2% last month

other highlights

• Employment growth among core-aged men (25-54 years) and men aged 55+; steady for core-aged and older women; little change for male and female youth.
• Sectors with employment increases: wholesale and retail trade, transportation and warehousing, information/culture/recreation, and educational services; decrease in business services.
• Employment rose in Ontario and Prince Edward Island, declined in Manitoba, and remained stable in other provinces.
• Average hourly wages increased 5.2% (+$1.66 to $33.38) year-over-year in April (not seasonally adjusted).
• Part-time employment increased while full-time employment held steady; 15.2% of part-time workers involuntarily working part-time.
• Private sector employees increased by 299,000 (+2.3%) year-over-year, public sector increased by 81,000 (+2.0%), and self-employment remained unchanged, below pre-COVID-19 levels.

Looking at the different sectors, the winners and losers are showing:

• Wholesale and retail trade employment increased by 24,000 (+0.8%) in April, partially offsetting a net decline from May to December 2022.
• Transportation and warehousing employment rose by 17,000 (+1.6%), building on March's increase; up by 47,000 (+4.7%) compared to 12 months earlier.
• Information, culture, and recreation employment increased by 16,000 (+1.9%) after three months of little change; up by 58,000 (+7.3%) since October 2022.
• Educational services employment grew by 15,000 (+1.0%), trending upwards since August 2022 with cumulative gains of 71,000.
• Business, building, and other support services employment decreased by 14,000 (-1.9%), partially offsetting March's increase; up by 32,000 (+4.7%) compared to April 2022.
• Health care and social assistance employment held steady for a second consecutive month.
• Professional, scientific, and technical services employment remained stable in April, with a year-over-year increase of 3.8% (+68,000).

Overall, solid job gains but centered in the part-time employment. Full-time prep employment was steady. Unemployment rate dipped back to 5%. That is the low water mark for employment.

The USDCAD moved up and down. The high price reached 1.35115, and then fell back down to 1.34799. The low for the day is at 1.3478 so far. The price trades at 1.3483. The markets are digesting both the US and Canada jobs reports. Both came in better than expectations.