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CANADA-UNEMPLOYMENT-INDICATOR
Canada jobless rate rises despite surge in employment
OTTAWA, Feb 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Canada added 67,000 jobs in January, but
the unemployment rate still climbed 0.2 percentage points to 5.8 percent as
more people started the year looking for work, the government statistical
agency said Friday.
Employment growth, according to Statistics Canada, was led by younger
workers aged 15 to 24 and the wholesale and retail industries.
The number of workers in professional, scientific and technical services
also rose, while jobs in goods-producing sectors decreased — notably in
agriculture.
Employment rose in six provinces, led by Ontario and Quebec, while it fell
in Alberta and Saskatchewan. British Columbia and Prince Edward Island saw
little change.
The jobs picture was much stronger than expected amid stresses in the oil
sector and housing market.
“Following a quieter month in December,” when the economy generated only
9,300 new jobs, January’s figures “blew past expectations” commented Royce
Mendes of CIBC Economics, for a modest gain of 5,000 to 6,000 jobs.
“The unemployment rate did rise, but only because of an increase in the
participation rate,” he said. “Overall, it’s been a good day for readings on
the Canadian economy.”
Mendes predicted that first quarter economic growth is still likely to be
“somewhat weak” due to struggles getting oil to new markets due to regulatory
delays in building new pipelines.
So despite the data being “bullish for the Canadian dollar,” he said, the
Bank of Canada is likely to wait until the second half of 2019 before raising
its key lending rate — after several hikes in the past 18 months from a
near-record low.
BSS/AFP/HR/1000