March employment report expected to be relatively flat after blockbuster February

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada is scheduled to disclose this morning how the job market fared in March, a month after a strong report that saw the unemployment rate fall to pre-pandemic levels.

The Canadian economy added 337,000 jobs in February, as the labour market shook off the shock from COVID-19 delivered two years ago.

That more than offset the loss of 200,000 jobs as the unemployment rate fell to 5.5 per cent, below the 5.7 per cent level in February 2020.

National Bank of Canada economist Jocelyn Paquet said she expects flat numbers for the month after February’s “breathtaking” figure, even though the labour market situation likely continued to improve, supported by improvement in the pandemic.

Assuming the participation rate remained unchanged at 65.4 per cent, the bank expects that the unemployment rate should be flat at 5.5 per cent.

However, Derek Holt, head of Capital Markets Economics, anticipates a gain of 125,000 jobs and a decline in the unemployment rate to 5.2 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2022.

The Canadian Press