CIBC Says February's Job Losses Are "Very Worrisome" for Bank of Canada

08:51 AM EDT, 03/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The Canadian labor market took a worrisome turn in February, with employment dropping by 84,000 and the unemployment rate rising to 6.7% from 6.5%, said CIBC.

That was in contrast to the consensus expectation for a gain of 10,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to increase to 6.6%, noted the bank.

Even worse, Friday's Labour Froce Survey (LFS) drop in jobs was fully accounted for by full-time positions (-108,000), mainly in the private sector (-73,000).

The job losses were widespread across industries, with service-producing industries losing 56,000 jobs and goods-producers shedding 28,000 positions. This leaves the employment-to-population ratio lower at 60.6.

Overall, this is clearly a "very worrisome" report for the Bank of Canada that shows that labor market slack has increased and activity is frozen amidst trade uncertainty, according to CIBC.

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