Loonie closes in on US dollar after positive February employment statistics
Friday, March 12, 2010 at 10:50AM The number of unemployed Canadians fell in February as the economy created 21,000 jobs, Statistics Canada reported today. The unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 8.2% last month, continuing a trend begun last July. From October 2008 to July 2009, 417,000 jobs were lost.
Money markets reacted to the positive employment news and the loonie rose to US98.41 cents in early trading Friday, up almost a cent from Thursday's closing number. This is the highest the Canadian dollar has been since July, 2008.
The 60,000 new full-time jobs created in February were partially offset by the loss of 39,000 part-time jobs.
Men 55 years of age and older accounted for all of the job gains, especially in the public sector. Other increases were in accommodation and food services; business, building and other support services; manufacturing; health care and social assistance; and natural resources. These gains were offset in part by losses in retail and wholesale; finance, insurance, real estate and leasing; and "other" services.
The rate of unemployment for men in the 55-and-older age group now stands at 7.1%, down 0.6% in February. For women in the same age group, the rate remained unchanged at 5.7%.
Gains were seen in manufacturing (up 17,000) and natural resources (up 11,000) in February. The growth in natural resources has continued since the fall of 2009.
Compared to October, 2008, employment in the service sector is up, while employment in the goods sector is down by 326,000, of which 206,000 jobs were lost in manufacturing.
Employment was up in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, where the unemployment rate now sits at 4.3%, the lowest of all the provinces. Only Alberta experienced job losses in February (down 15,000), the second consecutive month of losses for the province. In Ontario the employment situation was virtually unchanged, following a sizable gain in January. Quebec was also little changed.
Statistics Canada information is used with the permission of Statistics Canada. Users are forbidden to copy the data and redisseminate them, in an original or modified form, for commercial purposes, without permission from Statistics Canada. Information on the availability of the wide range of data from Statistics Canada can be obtained from Statistics Canada's Regional Offices, its World Wide Web site at www.statcan.gc.ca, and its toll-free access number 1-800-263-1136.
NOTICE - All Rights Reserved Except as Stipulated Below. PHOTOS MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM. Our reporters and journalists break or report stories and their sources and information are protected by the doctrine of free press as expressed in the First Ammendment, Reporters Privilege Statues, and also the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.This article if a feature or opinion piece is the opinion of the author or reports the news and opinions of others and is NOT INTENDED TO OFFER ADVICE. FOR OPINION STORIES: This story/article/ feature may be an opinion piece — and should be treated accordingly — or reporting on the opinions of others, and should never be considered as a sole source of information or as a suggestion, instruction or prescription. FOR CRIME STORIES: always read the word "allegedly" in any story mentioning "suspects" or "persons of interest". FOR BUSINESSS AND MONEY STORIES: For money/ trade and exchange stories, this magazine and its writers accept no responsibility for accuracy — always check with other sources for important decisions. FOR HEALTH AND LIFESTYLE STORIES: In the case of food/health stories, these facts have not been evaluated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information stated here should be NOT be considered as medical, health, psychological or behavior advice. All information in this story and on this site is provided for educational or entertainment purposes ONLY. Always seek the advice of experts, including doctors for medical opinions. Only a licensed medical doctor can offer medical advice. FOR EXPERT, ADVICE OR HOW-TO STORIES: Legal advice or other expert advice is best referred to experts in their respective fields. NO RESPONSIBILITY: The publishers and editors, authors, researchers, employees, heirs and assigns accept no responsibility whatsoever for any advice, facts, opinions in this story, nor for resulting actions of readers of this information. ALL READERS ACCEPT THAT THIS INFORMATION IS PRESENTED ONLY AS NEWS, EDUCATION, ENTERTAINMENT OR OPINION/INFORMATION AND AGREE IN READING THIS STORY OR THIS SITE THAT USE OF THIS INFORMATION IS SOLELY THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE READER. Copyright by the byline author unless otherwise indicated. EXCERPTS from other magazines or media sources are posted under fair use doctrine, on the basis of no more than 5-10% of content with links and credit to source for the complete story. These are posted in the interest of providing interesting links (description as excerpt) with navigation to the source. Likewise, we encourage our many subscribers to excerpt with credit and links to our e-zines, up to 10% of content. To use more content than 10%, please contact the e-zine for permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED except as stipulated herein. IMPORTANT: this web content also includes a forum and comments function, which allows for posting from users not employed by this publication. We accept no responsibility for posts, content, language or accuracy of posts from outside parties but will attempt to correct any inaccuracies reported within the context of free speach. Where possible, spam, lewd or obscene comments WILL BE REMOVED.
Persona Corp. and Blogertize publishes several webzines, magazines, e-zines for news, entertainment and information, but cautions readers to read the NOTICE above:
* Secure Network News
Sponsored Advertisers
Jameson Bank – Canada's "It's Taken Care Of" Bank
Amer.com – Technology for Life
Reader Comments