krupniok_pl
06.02.09, 15:04
www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/02/06/januaryjobs.html
With the economy staggering in recession, Canada's unemployment rate shot up
by 0.6 percentage points in January to 7.2 per cent as 129,000 jobs were lost
last month, Statistics Canada said Friday.
"This drop in employment exceeds any monthly decline during the previous
economic downturns of the 1980s and 1990s," the federal government agency said.
Almost all of the job losses were in full-time work.
Since October, the battered Canadian economy has lost 213,000 jobs.
Reaction of world financial markets to the shockingly poor jobs report was
swift. The Canadian dollar opened at 80.43 cents US, down 0.80 of a cent from
Thursday's close.
The job losses far exceeded the drop of 40,000 that economists had been
projecting. "Horrible" and "shockingly poor" were some of the words they used
in reaction to the January jobless figures.
"Everybody is prepared for a pretty weak first quarter, but these numbers are
probably surprising the more bearish views," said Royal Bank chief economist
Craig Wright.
"Unfortunately we will see more job losses," said Sal Guatieri, a senior
economist at BMO Capital Markets. "This is the start of a wave of job losses
that will likely extend through the first half of this year."
Manufacturing meltdown
The manufacturing sector lost 101,000 jobs during January, the most on record
for the industry. The bulk of January's losses in manufacturing were
concentrated in Ontario, which lost 36,000 positions; Quebec, which lost
30,000; and British Columbia, which shed 18,000 manufacturing positions.
Losses in manufacturing were most pronounced in motor vehicle manufacturing.
Employment also fell in January in the production of furniture; computers and
electronics; appliances and components; and clothing manufacturing.
Employment also fell by 30,000 in transportation and warehousing, largely in
truck transportation in Ontario, while employment in business, building and
other support services declined by 22,000.
The health-care and social assistance sector continued to see strong job
gains, as it added 31,000 jobs during the month.
Ontario plunges
Ontario lost 71,000 jobs last month, the largest monthly drop in more than
three decades, Statistics Canada said. The drop pushed the province's
unemployment rate up by 0.8 percentage points to eight per cent — its highest
level since November 1997.
British Columbia shed 35,000 jobs as its unemployment rate also increased by
0.8 percentage points to 6.1 per cent.
Quebec's employment fell by 26,000 jobs, with all the losses coming in
part-time work. The province's unemployment rate rose to 7.7 per cent. January
saw large declines in public administration, following gains in December
associated with hiring for the provincial election.
