Canada
Canada employment for April 2024
  • Prior month -2.2K
  • Employment change of 90.4K versus -2.2K last month. Highest since January 2023.
  • Unemployment rate 6.1% versus 6.2% estimate. Prior month 6.1% The steady reading was the first after 6 consecutive monthly declines
  • On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down 0.9 percentage points
  • Full-time employment 40.1K versus -0.7K last month
  • Part-time employment 50.3K versus -1.6K last month.
  • On a year-over-year basis, part-time employment was up by 2.9% (+104,000) in April, while full-time employment was up by 1.7% (+273,000).
  • Participation rate 65.4% versus 65.3 last month.
  • Total hours worked rose 0.8% in April and were up 1.2% compared with 12 months earlier
  • Average hourly wages among employees increased 4.7% (+$1.57 to $34.95) on a year-over-year basis in April, following growth of 5.1% in March (not seasonally adjusted).

Further details:
Employment increased in April in

  • Professional, scientific and technical services (+26,000; +1.3%),
  • Accommodation and food services (+24,000; +2.2%),
  • Health care and social assistance (+17,000; +0.6%) and
  • Natural resources (+7,700; +2.3%),

While it fell in utilities (-5,000; -3.1%).

Much stronger than expected with near equal gains in full and part time (relatively). The market is now pricing 57 basis points of easing versus 64 basis points before the data.

The USDCAD has moved lower and is a back below its 200 bar moving average on the 4-hour chart. The low price reached the low prices from April 26 and April 29 at 1.36319 and has bounced off of that double bottom (at the time). Staying below the 200 bar moving average at 1.3664 keeps the sellers in control.

USDCAD
USDCAD trades below the 200 bar moving average on the 4-hour

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