http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/Canada-adds-jobs-expected-reuters-2698201490.html "About 22,000 more Canadians were working in December than in November..." "The unemployment rate held steady at 7.6 percent..." "Markets had expected 17,500 positions to be created in the month and the jobless rate to climb to 7.7 percent." "Unlike the United States, where the job recovery remains slower than desired, Canada has more than recouped all the jobs lost during the recession. Its unemployment rate remains well below that of its southern neighbor, a historical anomaly." "Some of the Canadian report's details suggested underlying strength, with the private sector accounting for most new positions and the number of full-time jobs eclipsing part-time ones." "The average hourly wage of permanent employees, closely watched by the Bank of Canada for inflation pressure, sped up slightly to 2.3 percent in December from a year earlier and from 2.2 percent in November." Long CAD? Positioning for an earlier than expected rate hike in 2011? Blip on the radar screen? Thoughts?
Since you are dialed in on Canadian economics, do you know if Canada uses the same metrics as the BLS does to determine unemployment? I noticed after talking to family and friends Toronto still has a pretty hot job market.
I believe it is very similar, although I am not completely familiar with the way BLS calculates the unemployment rate specifically. There is a wealth of information on the Statistics Canada website and they are very transparent with their calculations. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/110107/dq110107a-eng.htm