What is in the Canada jobs report
The Labour Force Survey asks about 65,000 households each month about the work of everyone aged 15 and over. It covers one reference week, usually the week that holds the 15th of the month, and leaves out people living on reserves, full-time members of the armed forces and people in institutions.
From those answers Statistics Canada estimates employment, unemployment, the unemployment rate and the employment rate. It also reports hours worked, the average hourly wages of employees, and the change in jobs by industry and by province.
Results come out about ten working days after the survey closes. That makes it one of the earliest official reads on any given month.
Why the Canada jobs report moves the Canadian dollar
A strong labour market lets households keep spending and puts pressure on wages, and both feed inflation. More jobs than expected makes a higher Bank of Canada rate, or fewer cuts, more likely, and the loonie usually firms.
The unemployment rate often matters more than the jobs count. It shows how much spare capacity there is in the labour market, which is what a central bank weighs when it thinks about inflation ahead.
When the Canadian and US reports come out on the same morning, USD/CAD gets two shocks at once. The move then depends on which country surprised more.
How to read the Canada jobs report against the forecast
Start with the unemployment rate and the jobs change against the forecast. Then look at where the change came from: a gain spread over many industries says more than one carried by a single sector.
Statistics Canada tests its monthly changes at a 68% confidence level, a low bar, and says monthly estimates can show more variability than the trend. A big surprise in one month can be partly undone the next.
Wages are the third line. Faster growth in average hourly wages points to inflation pressure, but the average also depends on who is in work, so a month in which many low-paid jobs are lost can push it up.
What the Canadian dollar did on the last release days
Our calendar keeps the exact time of each release since 16 September 2026. The first Canada jobs report after that date will show here with the Canadian dollar's move around it.
For scale: on an ordinary day the Canadian dollar moves 0.16% against the basket from one London opening to the next, either way, on average over the 250 trading days since 14 Oct 2025.
The forecast, the figure itself and what it changed in our view of the currency are in the app, next to the research.