By Paul Vieira

OTTAWA--Canada's less-timely gauge of the labor market indicated employers added workers in January, led by the hiring of teachers. That stands in contrast to Statistics Canada's closely-watched labor-force survey, which reported back in February that the economy shed 24,800 jobs in January.

The data's agency report on nonfarm payrolls said Thursday that Canada added 45,600 workers in January, for a year-over-year gain of 0.2%. The report said nine of 20 sectors tracked posted increases in payroll employment, led by the educational services and construction. That was offset by a drop in retail trade.

Some economists believe that Canada's less-timely payroll survey does a better job at tracking the underlying trend in the labor market. The labor-force survey is based on a household survey, whereas the payroll report measures the month-over-month change in employment based on payroll-deduction records and an analysis of date from 15,000 organizations.

The labor-force survey estimates that Canada's unemployment rate sits at 6.7%, or 5.6% when calculated using U.S. Department of Labor methodology.

The payroll report added that average weekly earnings rose 2% from January of last year, and that job vacancies fell nearly 7% in January from a year ago.

Most economists believe that labor-market weakness is one reason the Bank of Canada will keep its policy-interest rate steady through 2026 at 2.25%, despite concerns that higher energy prices stemming from the war in Iran will push inflation higher.

Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 26, 2026 09:07 ET (13:07 GMT)

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