When the monthly jobs report came out last week it was a clear indication that the Canadian economy is slowing. The entire country generated only 7,400 new positions in April, effectively the picture was unchanged and any improvement we did see was largely because of temporary election workers joining the workforce.
The biggest decline was in the manufacturing sector as the tariffs begin to kick in. And, given its reliance on the manufacturing segment, Ontario took the brunt of the impact followed by Quebec. Both saw their unemployment rates rise a few tenths-of-a-point. In fact, Ontario now has the second-highest unemployment rate, trailing only Newfoundland and Labrador.
But the report was also a tale of two countries.
While Central Canada has slowing, the story on the Prairies is the exact opposite. We were creating jobs out here. Alberta added 15,000. Saskatchewan posted a gain of 2,500.
Because central Canada’s population is so large, what happens there tends to drive national change and this slowing probably means further interest rate cuts in the coming months.
