- David Madani, Capital Economics
Canadian companies created more than expected jobs last month, while the unemployment rate advanced as more people continued to enter or re-enter the labor market, official figures revealed on Friday. Statistics Canada reported that Canadian employers added 19,400 jobs to the economy in March, following the preceding month's gain of 15,300, surpassing analysts' expectations for a 5,700 increase and marking the fourth consecutive monthly gain. However, the Bank of Canada is expected to keep its monetary policy unchanged at its meeting this week. The Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said earlier that the Canadian economy had a lot of room for improvement and policymakers should bear in mind potential downside risks. The data also showed that 18,400 full-time jobs and 1,000 part-time jobs were added to the economy last month. In the meantime, the jobless rate climbed to 6.7% from 6.6% registered in February, meeting analysts' expectations. Even though March's report turned out better than expected, hourly salaries of permanent employees advanced just 0.9% compared to the same period a year ago. The largest downward pressure on wages was seen in Alberta, as it remained on the path to recovery from the May 2016 wildfires.
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