What it measures
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a share of the labour force, which counts everyone working or looking for work. People not looking for work are outside the labour force.
Who publishes it and when
Statistics Canada publishes it in the Labour Force Survey release at 08:30 Toronto time, usually on a Friday early in the month, at the same moment as Employment Change.
How it is put together
It comes from interviews with about 65,000 households each month, about a reference week that usually contains the 15th. Changes of a tenth of a point can be within sampling noise.
What traders watch
Traders read it alongside employment, hours worked and wages, and watch the participation rate, which can move the unemployment rate without any change in hiring.
How markets have usually reacted
A rise has often weighed on the Canadian dollar and a fall has often supported it, mixed with the reaction to the jobs figure and, on shared mornings, the U.S. report.
Common mistakes
- Reading a small change as meaningful.
- Forgetting the U.S. jobs report that often comes out at the same moment.
How a higher or lower figure is usually read
A higher unemployment rate is usually read as negative for the Canadian dollar; a lower one as supportive. Not a signal.
Release history
No past releases recorded yet.
Related news
- Canada Employment Change
- Bank of Canada Rate Decision
- Canada GDP (monthly)
- Economic calendar: every release this week in your time zone
- Lot size calculator: keep your risk the same around news
- How to use an economic calendar: what happens around a release, and how to plan for it
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Official source
Source: Statistics Canada. This does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada of this product.
Calendar data: www150.statcan.gc.ca
Published by Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey: www150.statcan.gc.ca