Statistics Canada will release its latest jobs report Friday morning.
The labour force survey for December is expected to provide a picture of how the economy was faring just before COVID-19 infections began spiking due to the Omicron variant.
The Canadian economy added 153,700 jobs in November, dropping the unemployment rate to six per cent.
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Economists at CIBC expect the December jobs report to show a gain of 15,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 6.1 per cent to close out the year.
However, the rise in COVID-19 cases and the associated public health restrictions are expected to take their toll on the economy for January.
The highly transmissible Omicron variant has fuelled record breaking COVID-19 case numbers and prompted the return of more restrictive rules across the country.