09:16 AM EDT, 05/13/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The two-tick rise in Canada's jobless rate to 6.9% in April left it a "whopping" 2.7 ppts north of the United States rate of 4.2%, noted Bank of Montreal (BMO).

To be sure, there are measurement differences, which account for roughly a one precentage point of the gap, said the bank.

However, even allowing for that, this is one of the worst relative performances by Canada's job market since 2001, stated BMO. There were a couple of wild outliers in the pandemic, but the bank ignored those results.

Over the long sweep of the past 50 years, a wide gap in jobless rates has tended to be associated with extreme levels in the Canadian dollar as well, pointed out the bank.

There are many factors that drive the exchange rate, but a relatively weaker Canadian job market goes hand in hand with a weaker Canadian dollar, added BMO. The link is a) a relatively more dovish Bank of Canada and/or b) a weak commodity price backdrop.