Brandon716
Senior Member
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/631083
Jobless rate stabilizes
Numbers are much better than economists expected
May 08, 2009 01:05 PM
Ann Perry
Business Reporter
Canada's economy took an unexpected break in April from the punishing job losses that have pummelled it since last fall, creating 36,000 net positions and leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 8 per cent.
After months of carnage in employment markets, the positive job numbers shocked economists, who had anticipated about 50,000 jobs losses last month. The unemployment rate in Ontario, where job losses have been particularly heavy since the recession began, held steady at 8.7 per cent, while the hard-hit manufacturing sector actually created 7,000 jobs across the country.
Toronto's unemployment rate edged up 0.1 of a percentage point to 8.9 per cent, on a three-month moving average.
But economists warned the jobless report should be taken with a grain of salt. Statistics Canada chalked up the over-all job gain to a jump of 37,000 people in the self-employment category, prompting United Steelworkers economist Erin Weir to dub it the "do-it-yourself recovery."
"It's probably safe to say that a large portion of this was likely those who were laid off and forced into self-employment, a trend that was also noticeable during the 1990s recession," Toronto Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala wrote in a research note.
"While it is great news that job destruction halted in April, we shouldn't put too much stock in one month of data," Petramala said.
It was a concern echoed by Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, who said "it's premature to send the all-clear signal." He added that "head fakes" are always possible and noted that employment actually rose in five separate months in 1991 during a long and deep recession.
"Still, this marks a huge improvement from the wicked job losses seen over the winter, and is yet another strong signal that the economy may be approaching bottom," Porter said.
Adding to the positive news was that the increase in employment in April was all in full time work, which added 39,000 jobs, the first gain in five months. Meanwhile, the economy shed 3,600 part-time positions.
Despite last month's increase, over-all employment has plummeted by 321,000 since peaking last October, and the jobless rate remains at a 7-year high.
And many economists expect job losses to resume before a recovery takes hold.
"We expect the economy to continue to shed jobs over the rest of 2009, but not to the same degree as we saw over the last five months," Petramala said.
Jobless rate stabilizes
Numbers are much better than economists expected
May 08, 2009 01:05 PM
Ann Perry
Business Reporter
Canada's economy took an unexpected break in April from the punishing job losses that have pummelled it since last fall, creating 36,000 net positions and leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 8 per cent.
After months of carnage in employment markets, the positive job numbers shocked economists, who had anticipated about 50,000 jobs losses last month. The unemployment rate in Ontario, where job losses have been particularly heavy since the recession began, held steady at 8.7 per cent, while the hard-hit manufacturing sector actually created 7,000 jobs across the country.
Toronto's unemployment rate edged up 0.1 of a percentage point to 8.9 per cent, on a three-month moving average.
But economists warned the jobless report should be taken with a grain of salt. Statistics Canada chalked up the over-all job gain to a jump of 37,000 people in the self-employment category, prompting United Steelworkers economist Erin Weir to dub it the "do-it-yourself recovery."
"It's probably safe to say that a large portion of this was likely those who were laid off and forced into self-employment, a trend that was also noticeable during the 1990s recession," Toronto Dominion Bank economist Diana Petramala wrote in a research note.
"While it is great news that job destruction halted in April, we shouldn't put too much stock in one month of data," Petramala said.
It was a concern echoed by Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, who said "it's premature to send the all-clear signal." He added that "head fakes" are always possible and noted that employment actually rose in five separate months in 1991 during a long and deep recession.
"Still, this marks a huge improvement from the wicked job losses seen over the winter, and is yet another strong signal that the economy may be approaching bottom," Porter said.
Adding to the positive news was that the increase in employment in April was all in full time work, which added 39,000 jobs, the first gain in five months. Meanwhile, the economy shed 3,600 part-time positions.
Despite last month's increase, over-all employment has plummeted by 321,000 since peaking last October, and the jobless rate remains at a 7-year high.
And many economists expect job losses to resume before a recovery takes hold.
"We expect the economy to continue to shed jobs over the rest of 2009, but not to the same degree as we saw over the last five months," Petramala said.
