Canada’s jobless rate holds at 7.4 per cent
Posted July 8, 2011 2:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA – The Canadian economy created 28,000 jobs in June, helped by a gain the part-time jobs to post its third consecutive month of growth.
Statistics Canada said Friday the country’s unemployment rate held steady in June at 7.4 per cent as the number of people entering the workforce increased.
The increase in jobs was mainly in the part-time sector, which added 21,000 jobs, compared with 7,000 new full-time jobs.
Economists had expected an overall increase of 10,000 jobs.
BMO deputy chief economist Douglas Porter called the report a small point in favour of the of the Bank of Canada gradually raising its key interest rate later this year.
“If you blinked, you may have missed the slowdown in Canada’s job growth,” Porter wrote in a note to clients.
“While the details of the release may not be as impressive as the sturdy headline, there is no denying that the labour market continues to make impressive progress.”
The Canadian results compared with a gain of just 18,000 jobs in the much larger U.S. economy for June – the fewest in nine months – and an employment rate at 9.2 per cent, according to the U.S. Labour Department.
“Eventually those jobs will accelerate, and probably firm up later on this year once we start to get some decent job prints, because the supply shocks will wear off by that point related to Japan, and because lower commodity prices now versus earlier in the spring should get consumers out spending a little bit more,” Vice President of Scotia Capital Derek Holt told 680News.
Most of the initial damages done on the markets are currently coming off their lows.
Back in Canada, the public sector added 51,000 jobs in the month, while there were 22,000 new jobs in the private sector.
However, those gains were offset by a drop of 44,000 in the number of self-employed people in Canada.
The gains were led by the transportation and warehousing industry which saw a gain of 15,000 jobs, while the professional, scientific and technical services sector lost 19,000 jobs.
The construction and manufacturing sectors were little changed for the month.
Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia all posted employment gains in June, while Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador saw losses.
Employment was up 40,000 jobs in Ontario following a slight drop in May.
