Canada Records Biggest Job Losses Since 2009 Recession
By Greg Quinn - Apr 5, 2013
Canadian employment fell in March by the most since the last recession four years ago, a surprise decline led by full-time work and the hospitality industry.
The drop of 54,500 positions reported today by Statistics Canada offset a 50,700 gain in February, and the unemployment rate rose for the first time in five months, to 7.2 percent from 7 percent. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 6,500 job gain and 7 percent unemployment, according to median forecasts.
The report brings the labor market more in line with other parts of the economy, where output growth slowed to a 0.6 percent annualized pace in the fourth quarter and inflation has lagged the central bank’s 2 percent target since May. Statistics Canada also reported the country’s 11th straight merchandise trade deficit today.
“As bad as the headline was, there wasn’t much below the surface to make it better,” Robert Kavcic, senior economist at Bank of Montreal, said by telephone from Toronto. “We were pretty suspicious with what we had seen in the last four months,” he said, referring to improvements in the job market.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-05/canada-records-biggest-job-losses-since-2009-recession-in-march.html
