Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - March 2008
Employment growth in Canada is stronger than that in any other G7 nation, according to the latest reports from Statistics Canada. Between 2001 and 2006, the average annual job rate increase was 1.7 per cent. The closest to that of any other major industrial country was Italy at 1.2 per cent growth on average.
Furthermore, the job increase reported in February far outpaced the predictions. Despite expert opinion that job growth would stall this year, due to the slowing American economy, there were over 43,000 new jobs created last month, five times the expected amount, while the jobless rate held steady at its 33-year low.
Derek Burleton, an economist with Toronto Dominion bank called the latest data “mind boggling” in the face of the expected economic downturn.
“The last two months’ blowout in employment certainly goes against this notion that Canada’s economy is really beginning to slow,” said Burleton in an interview with the Financial Post.
All job gains were in the private sector and were full-time positions. The struggling manufacturing sector lost the most jobs but those losses were outnumbered by the gains in the construction and service sectors.
Sources:
Financial Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/rss/story.html?id=359846
The Gazette
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=b2cfa44b-fd15-487f-b15c-50224efa874e
