Canada sees biggest monthly job loss since 2009

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Canada sees biggest monthly job loss since 2009

The Canadian economy unexpectedly shed 54,000 jobs last month, the most since 2009, a sign faltering business and consumer confidence is slowing the pace of hiring.

All the losses were in full-time positions, Statistics Canada said Friday. The number of full-time workers tumbled by 71,700 in October, with many in manufacturing and construction in Central Canada. The country’s jobless rate rose two notches to 7.3 per cent.

The second drop in three months, after a year of fairly steady hiring, suggests global economic woes and market volatility are weighing on Canadian employers. Several economists, and the Bank of Canada, have cut their forecasts for economic growth in recent weeks.

“Suddenly the jobs market doesn’t look quite so rosy in Canada,” said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, in a morning note. “Canadian employment was weak across the board in October.”

Among sectors, natural resources was the only industry to post notable gains for the month, the agency said. The private sector shed 32,000 positions and the public sector eliminated 3,800 jobs.

The Canadian dollar shed more than a full cent after the report, sliding to 98.10 cents (U.S.) from Thursday’s close of 99.20 cents.

The most worrisome sign is that wage growth is slowing, to 1.3 per cent from a year ago, noted Bank of Nova Scotia economists Derek Holt and Karen Cordes Woods. “Swings of tens of thousands in the monthly job count matter far less than the fact that the millions of employed Canadians are just not making wage gains that are keeping up with the cost of filling their grocery carts, fueling their cars and what they’re spending on other staples,” they said.

That translates into wage reductions in real terms, which will weigh on Canadian consumers and dampens the outlook for consumer spending, they added.

Central Canada felt the brunt of the losses. Employment fell in Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, while it grew in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The losses comes after steady job growth through much of the past year. Total employment has risen 1.4 per cent, or by 237,000 jobs in that time. Full-time employment has grown 1.6 per cent in the past year, despite October’s loss. Part-time employment rose by 17,700 last month and is little changed over the past 12 months.

“Canada’s employment picture had been a surprising success story in 2011, at least up until this nasty result for October,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns. “No question, this is an extremely loud warning shot for the economy.”

Economists had expected 15,000 new positions, with the jobless rate staying put at 7.1 per cent.

Job losses among youth caused their unemployment rate to rise a notch to 14.1 per cent. Youth aged 15 to 24 have the highest jobless rate of any age demographic.

Canada sees biggest monthly job loss since 2009 - The Globe and Mail
 

EagleSmack

Hall of Fame Member
Feb 16, 2005
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Well I do hope Canada can square this away and it isn't a harbinger of things to come. So far you folks have been able to avoid this mess that we're in.
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
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10480 jobs posted in Saskatchewan today SaskJobs.ca - Real Careers. Real Life.


ALIS - Employer Job Banks by Industry


My brother-in-law works for the provincial government and they are estimating that there will be a shortage of 100,000 workers in Alberta within the next two years. We are already seeing it in the Medicine Hat area as companies are so short of staff that they have decided they aren't doing any work outside of Medicine Hat. I have 7 or 8 furnaces I get checked over every fall and we can't find a company that is willing to come out....too much work and not enough staff.
 

Johnnny

Frontiersman
Jun 8, 2007
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Third rock from the Sun
Im in Calgary and everyone running the fast food joints, doing cleaning and running hotels are foreign so there has to be jobs available if they are shipping in underwage workers here....
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
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Alberta
Im in Calgary and everyone running the fast food joints, doing cleaning and running hotels are foreign so there has to be jobs available if they are shipping in underwage workers here....

How do you know they are all foreign? Do you take the time to ask every one of them where they are from?
 

Johnnny

Frontiersman
Jun 8, 2007
9,388
124
63
Third rock from the Sun
How do you know they are all foreign? Do you take the time to ask every one of them where they are from?

I actually mostly just listen to the words coming out of their mouths and the accent alone is enough to narrow down where someone is from.
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
30,245
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Alberta
How do you know they are all foreign? Do you take the time to ask every one of them where they are from?

I know a guy that moved here 50 years ago from Holland and I can't understand a word he says. I wouldn't consider him "foreign". I guess we just have a different idea of what foreign is.
 

damngrumpy

Executive Branch Member
Mar 16, 2005
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kelowna bc
The long awaited slow down is coming big time. Not just here but all over the world.
This is why the election came about Harper saved us from, what? It is about a very
serious international problem. Greed. The entire world believed we could go and do
what we pleased financially, until we turned the entire market and mortgage system
almost into a ponzi scheme.
There are consequences for doing the risky things society did. In addition the allies
under NATO etc, decided to fight what has become almost a two front war in the
Middle East and no one wins a two front war. Ask Germany about it, they tried it on a
couple of occasions. Under Napoleon France gave it a go as well and fared no better.
No we are paying for greed, waste, deregulation and lack of government leadership.
The worst is yet to come.

I believe Europe is about to really tank and take a lot of people with them. For example
if Europe goes, so does America and China. Greece is merely a sample of the big picture.
Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Iceland and Italy the third largest indebted nation on earth are all
about to financially collapse. At best we can hold the inevitable off for a short period in the
days ahead. Don't charge on your Visa for Christmas because we are in a recession soon
and if things don't improve in the next six to eight weeks, we could fall into a depression.
Some say they won't let that happen, but no one plans a depression they just happen when
reason ends and panic sets in. The other problem is the fear of social unrest internationally.
It will take a generation to clean up the mess (twenty five years) for those wondering, if we
fall to a depression. Most people have no idea how bad the situation really is but if you
want a peek, read time the current addition with the China Bubble on the front cover.

Any wonder the jobs are shrinking? Business and investors are batting down the hatches
waiting for the financial storm to hit, and almost no one in working class family circles are
aware let along prepared, It is about to get much worse.