Data released earlier today from the Canadian economy showed a decline in employment of 25,000 jobs in January, following an increase of nearly 8,000 jobs in December. This falls short of expectations, which had anticipated an increase of approximately 6,800 jobs. Conversely, the unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to 6.8%, driven by a decrease in the number of job seekers, while expectations had been for it to remain unchanged from December’s figure.

Specifically, employment declined in several sectors, led by manufacturing, which lost 28,000 jobs, followed by education services, which saw a decrease of 24,000 jobs, and public administration, which lost 10,000. Meanwhile, the information, culture, and entertainment sectors added 17,000 jobs, agriculture added 11,000, and public utilities added 4,200.

Total hours worked in January rose by 3.3%, or $1.18, to $37.17 USD year-over-year, following a 3.4% increase in December.