The Canadian jobs report has a tendency to throw up surprises and the June report doesn’t disappoint. Employment fell by 2,200 rather than rise by 9,900 as was expected, but the huge surprise is the apparent surge in wage growth – jumping from 2.6%YoY to 3.6%YoY! That is the fastest wage growth rate in over 12 months and on the face of it should be very supportive for consumer sentiment and spending in coming months. Employment growth can be very choppy, as can be seen in economists’ forecasts for today’s jobs number which ranged from -45,000 all the way up to +35,000. Both part-time and full-time employment swing ... (full story)