Employment gains, job hunter influx clears way for rate hike: experts
OTTAWA — Canada received a dose of new jobs last month, maintained sturdy wage growth and saw more people searching for work — all seen as positives by experts who believe the path is clear for the central bank to raise interest rates next week.
The economy added 31,800 positions in June and the unemployment rate rose to six per cent, from 5.8 per cent in May, Statistics Canada reported Friday in its latest labour force survey.
Many analysts read the higher jobless rate as an encouraging sign because the influx of nearly 76,000 job seekers back into the labour market last month suggested more people are optimistic they can find work thanks to the hotter economy.
The latest jobs report, which also contained weaker data points, arrived less than a week before the Bank of Canada’s upcoming interest-rate decision next Wednesday.