didn’t turn up stunning results like it has over the previous few months. Employment was little changed in April, as absences related to illness and disability appeared to offset employers’ desire to hire to keep up with strong demand for goods and services. Hours worked declined 1.9 per cent from March, although the new level still was 1.3 per cent more than on the eve of the pandemic in February 2020.
“These are the signs of a mature labour market where most of the post-pandemic adjustment has already happened,” Charles St-Arnaud, chief economist at Alberta Central, said in a research note. “Multiple indicators point to a shrinking labour pool and an overheated market without much room to further expand,” said Tu Nguyen, an economist at RSM Canada LLP, an accounting firm. “The tightening job market adds pressure for the Bank of Canada to further raise interest rates, which will likely reach two per cent by the end of the summer, a much faster pace than previously anticipated.
Statistics Canada data show average hourly wages increased 3.3 per cent from April 2021, strong by recent historical standards, but still well short of inflation, as the consumer price index surged almost seven per cent over the same period. That could herald further pay increases, because workers could begin to demand compensation for a higher cost of living.