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The Graphic Truth: US/Canada economies (mostly) in sync

July 13, 2023
Gabrielle Debinski
and
Paige Fusco
Set of line charts comparing US to Canada unemployment rates and monthly job creation
Paige Fusco

The US and Canadian economies are so closely intertwined that they mostly experience comparable labor and employment trends at a given time. Still, there are some key differences.

Both economies saw a solid rise in unemployment in 2008 amid the Great Recession. And though the American workforce was harder hit, it was able to recover and boost its labor participation rate faster due to the resilience and breadth of the US economy.

Now, in the post-COVID era, the two economies are experiencing strong rebounds and tight labor markets, adding a solid number of new jobs each month despite hiking interest rates to rein in inflation. Still, though the US labor force is way larger, last month’s labor numbers show that Canada added more jobs relative to its population size . We see how the two have stacked up since 2000.

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