"Not only was the headline contraction in December sizable, but the losses were broad-based across industries and exclusively seen in full-time positions"
- Sonja Gulati, TD Bank economist
The last week was not so good for the Canadian economy, as all but one report surprised markets to the downside. Moreover, there have been a couple of very important data, including trade figures, Ivey PMI as well as building permits. Friday's labour report was the last nail in the coffin that pushed USD/CAD to 1.0945, a level previously seen in October 2009.
The Canadian economy lost 45,900 jobs during December, pushing the overall jobless rate to 7.2%, the level which is 0.3% higher from the previous month's reading. This also means the economy added only 102,000 new working places during the whole 2013. To be more precise, the land of the maple leaf lost 60,000 full-time jobs, and even a 14,000 gain in part-time jobs was not able to offset it. Another alarming sign, which does not suggest any bright future is the fact that younger generation continued to struggle in the labour market in December, as youth unemployment soared to 14%.
We have already mentioned that latest growth outlooks can be overoptimistic. Nonetheless, according to official figures, the economy should expand 2.3% this year. Despite this positive projection, many economists expect much weaker growth in Canada in 2014.
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