Canada reduced its estimate of job creation last year as part of an update to incorporate data from the last census, saying employers added 121,300 jobs to end the year with the unemployment rate at 6.7%.
Statistics Canada previously reported employment rose by 185,700 last year. It reported the December jobless rate was 6.6%. The labor force participation rate of 65.7%, revised from 65.9%, was the lowest since 2000. The Ottawa-based agency made revisions back to 2001.
The new figures also showed that the 4,300 job loss for December is now a decline of 11,300. The next regular monthly Labor Force Survey report, for January, is due on Feb. 6.
“In light of the magnitude of the changes, the Bank of Canada’s decision to cut rates may now look slightly less surprising,” said Nick Exarhos, a CIBC economist, in a note to clients Wednesday morning.
“We thought that a 15K/month pace in employment growth wasn’t great, though respectable, but the now reported 10K/month pace clearly shows that the labour market failed to make significant headway last year,” he added.
The Bank of Canada said Jan. 21 that job market indicated “significant slack in the economy,” as policy makers unexpectedly cut their key interest rate to 0.75% citing the threat from lower crude oil prices. The jobless rate will be little changed this year at 6.6%, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
The slower job growth may spark new debate about the Conservative government’s economic record ahead of an election due in October. Finance Minister Joe Oliver has touted Canada’s job gains since 2009 as among the strongest in the Group of Seven industrialized nations. Opposition parties have criticized the government for declining manufacturing employment and said its tax cuts are directed at the wealthy instead of struggling middle-class voters.
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