Canada’s jobs report came in better than expected.
According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, the labor market added 15,000 jobs in February.
Economists had forecast that Canada added just 2,500 jobs last month following January’s increase of 48,300.
Perhaps most notably, Canada’s full-time employment rose by a massive 105,100 last month. Part-time employment fell by 89,800.
“That adds to the evidence that the economy has recovered strongly from the oil price shock,” David Madani, Senior Canada economist at Capital Economics, wrote in commentary after the data crossed. “Overall, the latest employment figures, showing a more favourable rotation away from part-time to full-time work, bodes well for hours worked and wage growth this quarter. That will help to support continued economic growth this quarter.”
He added that a near-term interest rate cut from the Bank of Canada now looks "off the table."
Additionally, the unemployment rate fell to 6.6% from 6.8%.
The Canadian dollar is up by 0.4% at 13.455 per US dollar as of 8:32 a.m. ET after being little changed earlier in the day.