The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that the Canadian economy generated 91,000 jobs in December, beating estimates and pushing down the unemployment rate to 6.7 per cent from 6.8 per cent the month before. The Post's Jordan Gowling writes that economists had expected only 25,000 positions to be created and for the unemployment rate to rise to 6.9 per cent. The data are critical for the Bank of Canada and its next interest rate decision on Jan. 29. Desjardins's Royce Mendes says the latest data "leaves the Bank of Canada in a position to cut rates." He expects the BOC to cut in January and then pause in March. He says rates will ultimately have to come down to 2 per cent, "with more aggressive tariff threats weighing on business confidence." Capital Economics economist Bradley Saunders says the 91,000 bump in jobs in December was the largest in two years and "supports our view that labour market conditions are strengthening." Given the weakness in private-sector hiring, there is still a case to be made for a 25-basis-point cut in January. Mr. Saunders, however, now thinks the labour numbers add fuel for the BOC to take a break at its upcoming meeting. "The odds of a pause have now clearly increased."