By Canadian Press

Statistics Canada to report January jobs figures and show Omicron’s impact

Feb 4, 2022 | 2:34 AM

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada is scheduled this morning to report on how the job market fared in January amid tightened restrictions as the Omicron variant spread.

The Canadian economy added 55,000 jobs in December before COVID-19 cases began spiking at the end of the month, and edged the unemployment rate down to 5.9 per cent.

It was the lowest unemployment rate since February 2020 before the pandemic when it was 5.7 per cent.

January’s report is expected to wipe out December’s gains because of Omicron.

RBC economist Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan say they expected to see a drop of 75,000 jobs in the month, and an unemployment rate of 6.4 per cent after COVID-19 restrictions prompted business closures in much of the country.

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However, the duo say they expect the impacts of Omicron to be short-lived and not extend beyond the first quarter of 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2022.

The Canadian Press