07:56 AM EST, 01/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Canada will release the Labour Force Survey (LFS) at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, noted Bank of Montreal (BMO).

The bank expects another "soft" employment report to close out a challenging 2024, with a modest 10,000 increase in jobs anticipated. The small increase is, in part, due to the Canada Post strike which has since ended and only appeared to have a partial impact on the November figure since it started mid-month.

Another defining feature of November's LFS was the surge in the labor force which isn't expected to be repeated, stated BMO. Still, given the bank's call for subdued employment growth, even a trend-like increase in the labor force would push the unemployment rate up another tick to a cycle-high 6.9%.

However, with population growth slowing, the bank looks for the labor force to expand at a much more modest pace in 2025. It will also be watching hours worked to see how Q4 ended after a solid start but seemingly softer November -- the postal strike could have an impact here as well.

Finally, wage growth is expected to slow further to 3.8% year over year, the first sub-4% reading since spring 2022 as labor market slack finally begins to weigh.

Building permits for November are also out at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

The Canadian dollar (CAD or loonie) is little changed at $1.441/USD (69.4 U.S. cents) and is holding very slightly stronger than a week ago despite the drama surrounding Prime Minister Justin Truedau's resignation announcement on Monday, added BMO.