Canada adds 17,500 jobs in December

OTTAWA ? The Canadian economy added fewer jobs than expected in December but still managed to bounce back from declines in the previous two months.

Statistics Canada said Friday that 17,500 jobs were created last month, even as the unemployment rate edged up to 7.5 per cent from 7.4 per cent in November as more people entered the labour market in search of work, the agency said. The gains follow 54,000 job losses in October and another 18,600 in November.

Economists had expected 20,000 jobs to be added in December.

"Taking the string of the last few months together, Canada's job market still looks soft, and a rising unemployment rate has been in contrast with the drop seen stateside, said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets.

"We may have less reason to feel smug about Canadian outperformance, at least in terms of the near-term growth trend."

December saw an increase of 43,000 in part-time work, while full-time employment declined by 26,000 positions. Most of those job gains, 3,800, were in the private sector, while public-sector employment fell by 17,300.

"Over the past 12 months, employment growth totalled 1.2 per cent (199,000), with nearly all of the gains in the first half of the year," Statistics Canada said.

Ontario gained 15,700 jobs in December, pushing its unemployment rate down 0.2 percentage points to 7.7 per cent. British Columbia added 10,700 positions during the month, while Quebec lost almost 26,000 jobs ? the third straight month of declines ? with its jobless rate rising 0.7 percentage points to 8.7 per cent. Alberta's employment picture was little changed in December.

Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, said "while far from stellar, the modest job gain is a mild relief after two months of declines."

"The good news was that manufacturing was up 30,000, as the sector had shed almost 80,000 jobs in the prior three months alone. On the weak side, construction and finance and real estate posted double-digit drops," he said.

"Still, the soggy details reinforce the point that the job market . . . struggled late last year after a banner start to 2011, suggesting the broader economy is growing only modestly, at best."

Canada's gross domestic product ? the broadest reading of economic performance ? was unchanged in October, following four consecutive monthly increases. The outlook for growth this year is for tepid growth, according to economists.

Concerns are growing that Canada will be engulfed in a global downturn, as Europe's unresolved debt crisis and financial sector concerns spread beyond the region and the U.S. economic recovery falters.

On Thursday, a survey by the Economic Club of Canada and Pollara Strategic Insights showed 70 per cent of Canadians believe this country is already in another recession, albeit a mild one

Michael Marzolini, chairman of Pollara, said the survey unveiled "the most pessimistic findings we've had in 16 years."

"Canadians are more self-centred. They believe themselves under siege," he said in releasing the poll results.

Francis Fong, at TD Economics, said Canada's unemployment rate is expected "to continue treading higher, likely to about 7.7 per cent, while job gains will average a paltry 10,000 per month, more heavily weighted to the second half of the year."

"Government hiring is likely to remain under pressure in the coming months and private sector hiring will likely be tested by further deterioration in Europe's debt crisis."

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? The Financial Post

Source: http://feeds.canada.com/~r/canwest/F56/~3/zFrzmSOvlVA/story.html

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