Canada: Unemployment Rate declines to 4.9% in June vs. 5.1% expected

• Unemployment Rate in Canada fell unexpectedly in June.
• USD/CAD trades in positive territory above 1.3000 after Canadian jobs report.

The Unemployment Rate in Canada declined to 4.9% in June from 5.1% in May despite a 43.2K decline in Net Change in Employment, the data published by Statistics Canada showed on Friday. Investors were expecting the Unemployment Rate to remain unchanged at 5.1%. 

The Participation Rate fell to 64.9% from 65.3% in the same period, explaining the lower Unemployment Rate despite falling employment. Finally, the Average Hourly Wages rose by 5.57% on a yearly basis in June, up from 4.45% in May.

Market reaction

The USD/CAD pair gained traction after this report and was last seen rising 0.5% on the day at 1.3030.