Canada’s Jobless Rate Rises to Nine-Month High
Canada’s unemployment rate rose to a nine-month high in January as the trend of sluggish job creation that began in the second half of last year continued.
The jobless rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent as employment increased 2,300 last month, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had forecast unemployment to stay at 7.5 percent and 22,000 jobs to be added.
Consumers will account for more than half of Canada’s 2 percent economic growth this year, according to the Bank of Canada, as weak global demand and a high dollar curb exports. Most of the past year’s job growth came in the first six months of that period, Statistics Canada said, which suggests consumer spending growth may be restrained.
“It will weigh against a Bank of Canada rate increase anytime soon, and suggests the Canadian consumer could continue to pull back, not just in the face of elevated debts but also because of weaker job growth,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-03/canada-s-jobless-rate-rises-to-7-6-as-employment-growth-stalls-in-january.html
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