Jobless rate hits 33-year low in Canada
TAVIA GRANT
Globe and Mail Update
October 5, 2007 at 8:06 AM EDT
Canada's jobless rate unexpectedly fell to its lowest level since November,
1974, as the economy created triple the jobs that economists expected last
month.
Employers added 51,100 jobs September, sending the rate to 5.9 per cent,
Statistics Canada said Friday.
The report is the first to give a picture of the Canadian economy last month,
and shows employers clearly weren't rattled by a U.S.-led credit crunch that
spilled into Canada in August.
“Deepening U.S. housing trauma, the summer credit market turmoil, and a surging loonie couldn't slow this freight train,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at the Bank of Montreal, in a note.
Most of the gains were in full-time jobs, which rose at the fastest pace in four months. Public sector work such as education, public administration and professional services led the increase, Statscan said.
Ontario was the biggest gainer, spurred by hiring for the provincial election. Voters go to the polls Oct. 10. In Saskatchewan, new jobs pushed the unemployment rate down more than 1 percentage point to 3.8 per cent, the second lowest in the country after Alberta.
Wages are jumping as the labour market tightens. Hourly earnings rose 4.2 per cent from a year ago, well ahead of Canada's 1.7-per-cent inflation rate and the biggest increase since Statscan began collecting this data in 1997.
Job creation “along with steady upward wage pressures will keep the Bank of Canada firmly on hold through the end of this year, if not even longer,” Mr. Porter said.
The report sent the Canadian dollar soaring against its U.S. counterpart, trading at $1.0135 (U.S.) from yesterday's close of $1.0026.
This year, employment has swelled 1.7 per cent, outstripping the 1.3-per-cent rate in the first nine months of last year. Alberta continues to lead the country in job creation while its 3.6-per-cent unemployment rate remains the lowest in the country.
Most of this year's job creation is among the self-employed and the public sector. Construction, utilities, professional and accommodation and food services have created the most jobs this year while factories have cut the most, shedding 71,300 jobs.
Economists had forecast 17,500 new jobs and an unchanged unemployment rate of 6 per cent.
Kuljit Singh, Accredited Mortgage Professional
Mortgage Alliance AKAL Mortgages Inc. at (416) 621-1300 or email at info@akalmortgages.com.