1217 ET - Economist David Rosenberg says Canada's January jobs report was a "completely bizarre piece of data" that was "littered with internal contradictions." Overall, employment fell about 25,000 in January but the unemployment rate fell to 6.5% as fewer people looked for work. The head of Rosenberg Research says among the biggest takeaways is that the private sector shed 52,000 jobs in the month, or the sharpest drop in four years. "Not at all a good look," says Rosenberg, who is among the few economists predicting another cut from the Bank of Canada. He adds wage growth decelerated in January to 3.3%, even with a drop in the unemployment rate. The R-8 jobless rate, which includes all idle resources in the labor market, remains elevated near 9%, he adds. (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 06, 2026 12:18 ET (17:18 GMT)

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