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The net change in the number of employed people in Canada during the previous month, from the Labour Force Survey.
| Published by | Statistics Canada |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Currency affected | CAD |
| Release frequency | Monthly |
| Usual release time | 12:30 GMT (UTC+00:00) |
| Impact rating | High impact |
| Typical volatility | 40-90 pips on USD/CAD inside the first 30 minutes |
The Canada Employment Change is released monthly by Statistics Canada, usually at 12:30 GMT (UTC+00:00). These are the dates inside our calendar window.
Every release in the window has already been published. The next one falls outside the four-week demo calendar.
Canada's small sample makes the print extremely volatile, so the market often gets a large surprise.
It usually lands the same minute as a US release, which means USD/CAD trades two labour reports at once.
Typical volatility around the release is 40-90 pips on USD/CAD inside the first 30 minutes. That is an average, not a limit: when the figure lands far from consensus, or when it contradicts the central bank's own guidance, the move can be several times larger and can extend for the rest of the session.
| Pair | Why it reacts |
|---|---|
| USD/CAD | Direct loonie repricing. |
| CAD/JPY | Amplified through carry. |
| EUR/CAD | Cleanest CAD-only expression. |
Surprise is the released figure minus the consensus forecast, in the units of the release. Green means the figure printed above consensus, red below.
| Release date | Period | Previous | Forecast | Actual | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jul 2026 | Jun 2026 | 42.2K | 15.3K | 11.8K | -3.5 |
| 8 Jun 2026 | May 2026 | 0.1K | 39.7K | 42.2K | +2.5 |
| 9 May 2026 | Apr 2026 | 31.4K | -0.1K | 0.1K | +0.2 |
| 9 Apr 2026 | Mar 2026 | 37.2K | 42.0K | 31.4K | -10.6 |
| 10 Mar 2026 | Feb 2026 | 17.9K | 44.4K | 37.2K | -7.2 |
| 8 Feb 2026 | Jan 2026 | 24.5K | 24.7K | 17.9K | -6.8 |
| 9 Jan 2026 | Dec 2025 | 15.6K | 33.6K | 24.5K | -9.1 |
| 10 Dec 2025 | Nov 2025 | -6.2K | 25.8K | 15.6K | -10.2 |
Statistics Canada publishes the Canada Employment Change for Canada. It is released monthly, typically at 12:30 GMT (UTC+00:00).
We rate this release high impact. In our sample the typical move is 40-90 pips on USD/CAD inside the first 30 minutes, though a large deviation from consensus can produce considerably more.
USD/CAD, CAD/JPY, EUR/CAD carry the cleanest reaction. Direct loonie repricing.
No. The currency reaction depends on how the figure changes the expected path of interest rates, not on whether the headline is high or low. The same surprise can be read very differently depending on the central bank's current stance.