CIBC Research discusses its reaction to today's Canada labor market report.

"The Canadian labour market continued its weak start to 2026 in April, with a third decline in employment within the first four months of the year seeing the unemployment rate rise further. The -18K decline in jobs came against consensus expectations for a 10K increase and, combined with a slight uptick in participation, resulted in a rise in the unemployment rate to 6.9%. The unemployment rate increased most for young people aged 15-24, but also continued to drift higher for core aged (25-54) workers," CIBC notes.

"For the Bank of Canada, evidence that slack within the labour market is, if anything, increasing rather than reducing, should limit the ability for the oil price shock to spread into wider inflationary pressure. We continue to see the BoC holding interest rates at their current level throughout 2026," CIBC adds.