Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists’ Forecasts

[ADA]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aJ5ovNX1wNiw
Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists’ Forecasts (Update1)
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By Greg Quinn

Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Canada lost three times as many jobs as economists expected last month, led by construction and tourism-related businesses, signaling the country’s recovery from a recession may be slow.

Employment fell by 44,500, the third straight decline, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. The jobless rate remained at an 11-year high of 8.6 percent as the labor force shrank. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted a job loss of 15,000 and unemployment at 8.8 percent.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney have said the country’s job market will continue to worsen this year, even as Canada’s first recession since 1992 is expected to ease. The central bank cut its key interest rate to a record low 0.25 percent and the government predicts a record budget deficit as they act to revive the economy.

“Labor markets are a lagging indicator of activity, so I wouldn’t abandon hope the economy is emerging from recession,” said Sal Guatieri, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “But there’s a little more doubt about that view now.”

Canada’s dollar weakened 0.6 percent to C$1.0841 at 7:17 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.0777 yesterday. Earlier this week the currency reached C$1.0633, the strongest since Oct. 2.

Construction Employment Falls

Construction employment fell by 17,800 in July, while accommodation and food service companies fired 22,200 workers. Information, culture and recreation employment declined by 10,600.

The job losses were concentrated in the full-time, private- sector jobs that economists focus on as a measure of the labor market’s strength.

Full-time employment fell by 29,100 positions, Statistics Canada said, while part-time jobs decreased 15,400. The number of employees at private companies fell by 74,900, while government employment dropped 4,400 and self-employment rose by 34,800.

Manufacturing employment fell by another 6,500 in July, bringing the total loss since October to 218,000, or 11 percent, Statistics Canada said.

“Depending on what happens in the market, we’ll continue to adjust it if we think it’s necessary,” said Neil Manning, chief executive officer of Wajax Income Fund, which has cut payrolls by 15 percent, according to a transcript of an Aug. 5 conference call. The Mississauga, Ontario-based company sells parts and equipment to industrial companies.

Auto Workers Hit Hard

Automotive workers have been among the hardest hit, as the bankruptcies of Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Corp. led to slower production, dealership closures and shuttered parts suppliers.

Governor Carney said July 23 the country’s stronger dollar is threatening the recovery and he is watching it closely. That was two days after he kept the benchmark rate at 0.25 percent and repeated he intends to keep it there through the second quarter of 2010 unless the inflation outlook shifts.

Unemployment will average 9.3 percent in the fourth quarter, according to a separate Bloomberg News economist survey. That suggests joblessness may reach a lower peak than the 12.1 percent rate set in November 1992.

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net.

 

[rupeshhari]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

do you know the names of the big banks in Canada?

 

[sanjeevindia]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

do you know the names of the big banks in Canada?

dear rupesh
try the following link. http://www.canadabanks.net/

 

[accreddy]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

The so-called big-five of Canada:

Royal Bank of Canada
Toronto-Dominion Bank
Bank of Nova Scotia
Bank of Montreal
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

 

[rupeshhari]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

Thank you.

 

[Hot-Lier]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

This is teh truth and i called one of my cousion in Toronto and she gave me the same picture as ADA posted.

 

[BobbyB]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

The bitter truth is that the situation is not getting better anywhere, even in Europe.
In fact in the UK, it is getting worse and worse day by day. I also think we are in a deeper "sheet" than most people think and are made to understand.

If this trend keeps on going this way, Man, It is soon going to get to the "jungle justice" stage: - "Survival of the fittest"

 

[ADA]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

Looks like south of the border the recession is easing

U.S. Payroll Losses Slow, Unemployment Rate Declines (Update3)
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=albavffOQj4o
Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- The pace of U.S. job losses slowed more than forecast last month and the unemployment rate dropped for the first time since April 2008, the clearest signs yet that the worst recession since the Great Depression is easing.

Payrolls fell by 247,000, after a 443,000 loss in June, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate dropped to 9.4 percent from 9.5 percent.

Stocks gained and Treasuries dropped after the report stoked optimism for a recovery in the second half. While the Obama administration’s fiscal stimulus efforts are projected to have a gathering impact on the economy, any rebound in hiring may be delayed as companies from Boeing Co. to Verizon Communications Inc. continue to cut costs.

“The American consumer is by no means out of the woods, but we are moving in the right direction,” said Richard DeKaser, chief economist at Woodley Park Research in Washington, the only economist to correctly forecast the payroll and unemployment numbers. “We will see moderate growth in the second half and more of a pickup in 2010.”

The Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index rose 0.7 percent to 1,004.41 at 10:14 a.m. in New York. Yields on benchmark 10-year notes rose to 3.84 percent from 3.75 percent late yesterday.

Revisions added 43,000 to payroll figures previously reported for June and May.

6.7 Million

The latest numbers brought total jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007 to about 6.7 million, the biggest decline in any post-World War II economic slump.

Payrolls were forecast to drop 325,000 after the 467,000 decline initially reported for June, according to the median of 82 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Predictions ranged from decreases of 150,000 to 460,000. Job losses peaked at 741,000 in January, the most since 1949.

The jobless rate was projected to rise to 9.6 percent, and forecasts ranged from 9.2 percent to 9.8 percent. A separate Bloomberg survey last month showed the rate may exceed 10 percent by early next year and average 9.8 percent for all of 2010.

Along with projected further increases in unemployment, stagnant wages and falling home values mean a lack of consumer spending will likely curb an economic recovery, analysts say.

Factory Jobs

Today’s report showed factory payrolls fell 52,000, the fewest in a year, after decreasing 131,000 in the prior month. Economists forecast a drop of 100,000.

That decline came even as 28,200 jobs were created in the automobile industry. The improvement reflected the return of workers at General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, both of which have exited bankruptcy.

GM may have to cut more U.S. hourly jobs after an offer of buyouts and early retirements fell about 7,500 workers short of the reorganized automaker’s target.

Payrolls at builders fell 76,000 after decreasing 86,000. Financial firms decreased payrolls by 13,000.

Service industries, which include banks, insurance companies, restaurants and retailers, subtracted 119,000 workers after losing 220,000 the month before. Retail payrolls decreased by 44,100.

Government payrolls increased by 7,000 after falling 48,000 the prior month.

Work Week

Today’s report also showed the average work week expanded to 33.1 hours in July from 33 hours in the prior month. Average weekly hours worked by production workers increased to 39.8 hours from 39.5 hours, while overtime held at 2.9 hours for a second month. That brought the average weekly earnings up to $614.34 from $611.49.

Workers’ average hourly wages rose 3 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $18.56 from the prior month. Hourly earnings were 2.5 percent higher than July 2008. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast a 0.1 percent increase from the prior month and a 2.5 percent gain for the 12-month period.

Even so, economists predict consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, will be slow to gain speed. Wages and salaries fell 4.7 percent in the 12 months through June, the biggest drop since records began in 1960, according to Commerce Department data issued this week.

Companies like Verizon and Boeing are still looking to trim expenses through cutbacks in staff. New York-based telephone carrier Verizon last month said it plans to slash more than 8,000 jobs in the second half of the year.

Boeing Cuts

Chicago-based Boeing, which is planning to eliminate about 10,000 workers, or 6 percent of its labor force, has agreed to allow some machinists to volunteer for a “layoff with benefits” to help mitigate job cuts, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said on July 28.

Emerson Electric Co., a maker of industrial equipment, will cut an additional 5,000 to 6,000 positions in the next few quarters, after it posted its third straight drop in quarterly earnings, the longest stretch since 2002. The St. Louis-based company has already eliminated 20,000 jobs.

“Emerson is still seeing very difficult and challenging times around the world,” Chief Executive Officer David Farr said on a conference call on Aug. 4.

Administration officials including Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, predict most new jobs under President Barack Obama’s stimulus program will come only in 2010. Less than 10 percent of the $787 billion plan goes to job creation this year, and the government still expects to save or create at least 3 million jobs, Summers said in an NBC television interview on Aug. 2.

The unemployment rate may not peak until the second half of 2010, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on ABC last week, even as the economy shows signs of improvement. Another extension in unemployment benefits “is something that the administration and Congress are going to look very carefully at as we get closer to the end of this year,” Geithner said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington

 

[rupeshhari]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

does this mean, there was a net gain in jobs?

It is good news about jobless rate but yesterday freddie mac said they want more money (i think it was freddie mac).

 

[ADA]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

Top 6 banks have 90% market share..
Unlike US where there are 8200 Commercial banks, Canada is a small potato ...
Canada is going to take more time to come out recession, compared to US.. mainly beacuse of dependancy on US.
But one thing is for sure, when things turn positive..Canada will need a hell of lot people to sustain upward trends...

 

[ADA]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

The job loss is decreasing -- doesnt mean that jobs are getting created ..
Because of Stimulus there are jobs getting created but in basis sectors like consturction and research etc.

We are a good 6 to 8 months (or 2 quarters at least) to declare offically that we are moving beyond recession to stabilization..

 

[rupeshhari]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

thats what i thought too, but it also says it went to 9.4% from 9.5%. maybe i didnt read it properly.

 

[cathy2381]

Re: Canada July Jobs Loss Triple Economists' Forecasts

Isn't just two weeks ago they said on TV recession is over in Canada?!?