XPost: can.general, can.jobs, can.politics   
   From: abc@123.cl   
      
   Canada posts surprise gain in employment   
      
      
   September 4, 2009   
      
   A Service Canada location in Toronto. Statistics Canada said Friday   
   that Canada created 27,000 jobs in August, but due to a rise in job   
   seekers, the employment rate rose 0.1% to 8.7%   
      
      
   OTTAWA -- Canada posted a surprising gain in employment in August as   
   the economy showed signs that it was beginning to pull out of a   
   recession.   
      
   Statistics Canada said Friday that 27,100 positions were added during   
   the month, compared with 44,500 losses in July. The unemployment rate   
   edged up to 8.7% in August from 8.6% the previous month.   
      
   The gains were led by part-time and private-sector employment, the   
   federal agency said. There were 30,600 part-time jobs added in August,   
   while 3,500 full-time positions were lost. Hardest hit was the   
   manufacturing sector, which shed another 17,300 in August. The biggest   
   gains were in the retail and wholesale trade, up 21,200, and finance   
   and real estate, up 17,500.   
      
   Six provinces saw employment rise, with the biggest increases in   
   Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Alberta lost the most jobs in   
   August.   
      
   “Since employment peaked in October 2008, total employment has fallen   
   by 387,000 (down 2.3%),”the agency said. “The trend in employment,   
   however, has changed recently. Over the last five months, employment   
   has fallen by 31,000, a much smaller decline than the 357,000 observed   
   during the five months following October 2008.”   
      
   Most economists had expected the economy to lose jobs in August, with   
   the consensus being about 15,000 fewer positions. They also expected   
   the unemployment rate to rise to 8.8%.   
      
   “This report may not quite carry the good housekeeping seal of approval   
   for the recovery, but it certainly is another big step in the right   
   direction,” said Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital   
   Markets.   
      
   “While we can quibble about the details, the broader picture here is   
   that the labour market is stabilizing, and apparently much faster than   
   in the U.S.” (The U.S. Labor Department said Friday that 216,000 jobs   
   were lost in August, although that was less than analysts had   
   expected.)   
      
   Charmaine Buskas, senior economics strategist at TD Securities, said   
   “the fact that the (Canadian) unemployment rate continues to rise has a   
   bit of a mixed messages, as the initial interpretation is negative, but   
   suggests that workers are slowly becoming more encouraged by better   
   prospects in the job market.”   
      
   “Ultimately, this report, while positive, is not going to have much   
   impact on the Bank of Canada. It has already committed to keep rates on   
   hold, and one month of good employment numbers is unlikely to sway the   
   decision.”   
      
   Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, said: “Half a   
   loaf, or in this case, half a job, is better than none, so an increase   
   in Canadian employment driven by part-time work is still an encouraging   
   signpost of an economic recovery now underway.”   
      
   The employment report follows some mixed signals of an economic   
   recovery in Canada.   
      
   On Thursday, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development   
   said Canada’s economy will contract 2% in the third quarter of 2009   
   before edging up 0.4% in the final three months of the year.   
      
   That’s in contrast to forecasts by the Bank of Canada, which expects   
   the country’s gross domestic product to grow 1.3% in the third quarter   
   of this year, followed by a 3% gain in the final three months of 2009.   
   The central bank also forecast the economy will contract 2.3% overall   
   this year and grow 3% in 2010.   
      
   Last week, Statistics Canada reported GDP increased 0.1% in June, even   
   as the second quarter declined overall by 3.4%.   
      
   The outlook by OECD, a Paris-based group of 30 industrialized nations,   
   shows Canada’s recovery lagging along with the U.K., which is expected   
   to decline 1% in the third quarter and be flat in the final quarter,   
   and Italy, which is forecast to shrink 1.1% and grow 0.4%,   
   respectively.   
      
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