Economist: Canada's employment situation fluctuates but generally follows the trend.

The drop in employment in Canada far exceeds expectations, but the unemployment rate rising to 6.7% is in line with Citigroup's prediction. Economist Veronica Clark stated that more importantly, the unemployment rate is still within recent ranges, so it should allow Canadian central bank officials to maintain a wait-and-see approach on interest rates next Wednesday. Clark said that despite slowing population growth and declining labor force participation, the unemployment rate remains slightly below 7%, indicating that the negative output gap has not been significantly closed.