MONTREAL (AFP) – Canada’s unemployment rate ticked down in December 2024, the national statistics agency said, ending 2024 with signs of strength as the country readies for potential economic upheaval triggered by incoming United States (US) president Donald Trump.
Statistics Canada said the December unemployment rate was 6.7 per cent, down from 6.8 per cent in November 2024.
November’s figure was the highest since January 2017, excluding 2020 and 2021, when pandemic lockdowns dramatically impacted the number of people working.
The economy added some 91,000 jobs in December, most of them full-time, led by gains in the education sector, Statistics Canada said.
“Canada’s job market ended 2024 on a high note,” a note from TD Economics said, with the economy adding “the most jobs in almost two years”.
But the TD note stressed tariffs are “top of mind” with Trump returning to the White House in just over a week.
He has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports, a levy that could upend Canada’s economy.
Ottawa has promised to retaliate, raising the prospect of a trade war.
