Canadian economy lost 46,000 jobs in December; loonie sinks
Posted January 10, 2014 6:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Canadian economy lost a surprising 45,900 jobs in December and the unemployment rate rose unexpectedly as more people searched for work.
Statistics Canada says the national unemployment rate rose to 7.2 per cent for the final month of the year compared with 6.9 per cent in November.
Economists had expected the economy to add 14,600 jobs and the unemployment rate to hold steady at 6.9 per cent, according to estimates compiled by Thomson Reuters.
The December drop was led by a decline in full-time jobs, which fell by roughly 60,000 for the month. The loss was offset in part by a gain of 14,200 part-time jobs.
BC gained 23,000 part-time jobs but lost 10,000 full-time positions; the province’s jobless rate fell a tenth of a point to 6.6 per cent.
The disappointing December job report capped a week of generally soft Canadian economic data that has seen the loonie drop to its lowest level since September 2009. This morning, the loonie slid to 91.40 cents US, down three-quarters of a cent.
