XPost: can.ai, can.general, can.politics   
   From: abc@123.cl   
      
   U.S. celebrates dramatic jobs improvement   
      
      
   By Alia McMullen, August 7, 2009   
   Bureau of Labour Statistics figures showed Friday that the U.S. jobs   
   market shrank by 247,000 in July, a result that would hardly cause a   
   market rally in good economic times. However, it was the smallest   
   decline in employment since August last year.   
      
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   Bureau of Labour Statistics figures showed Friday that the U.S. jobs   
   market shrank by 247,000 in July, a result that would hardly cause a   
   market rally in good economic times. However, it was the smallest   
   decline in employment since August last year.   
   Photograph by: Reuters/Lee Celano, Reuters/Lee Celano   
      
   The trumpets sounding the end of the U.S. recession blared louder   
   Friday as global markets celebrated a dramatic improvement in the pace   
   of job losses and the prospect of better times ahead for the world’s   
   biggest economy. But in Canada, the mood was dampened by the worst   
   decline in domestic employment in four months, a stark reminder that   
   although the recession has likely ended, the recovery will be bumpy.   
      
   “July’s U.S. employment report is the gift that keeps on giving. Nearly   
   every element of it is positive,” said Paul Ashworth, the senior U.S.   
   economist at Capital Economics.   
      
   Bureau of Labour Statistics figures showed Friday that the U.S. jobs   
   market shrank by 247,000 in July, a result that would hardly cause a   
   market rally in good economic times. However, it was the smallest   
   decline in employment since August last year and one-third the pace of   
   the 741,000 jobs lost in January. Furthermore, the unemployment rate   
   fell for the first time in 15 months, slipping one basis point to 9.4%.   
      
   Mr. Ashworth said while the jobs market continued to shrink, the data   
   was consistent with recovery, supporting the unofficial view that the   
   longest U.S. recession since the Great Depression ended in June. The   
   U.S. economy lost 265,000 jobs in the first month of the recovery after   
   the 2001 recession and 226,000 jobs in the first month after the 1991   
   downturn.   
      
   “The most encouraging part of the report was the fact that the total   
   hours worked increased for the first time in about a year,” said   
   Stéfane Marion, the chief economist at National Bank Financial. “This   
   normally precedes the start of a hiring trend that should be led by the   
   temporary-help supply agencies in the coming months.”   
      
   The result caused the S&P 500 to rally 13.40 points, or 1.3% to   
   1,101.48, while the Dow Jones industrial average rose 113.81 points, or   
   1.2%, to close at 9,370.07.   
      
   Canadian stocks also rose on the better-than-expected report from its   
   biggest trading partner. However, the rally was muted by surprisingly   
   bad Canadian data. The S&P/TSX composite index increased by 91.96   
   points, or 0.9%, to 10,885.33, however the Canadian dollar fell by   
   almost half a cent to US92.40¢.   
      
   Statistics Canada figures showed the Canadian economy lost 45,000 jobs   
   in July, about three times the drop expected by economists. Despite the   
   decline, the unemployment rate was unchanged at an 11-year high of 8.6%   
   because of a drop in the number of people looking for work.   
      
   The large drop in employment was disappointing, but the fact it   
   declined was no surprise because hiring tends to lag economic growth.   
      
   “No one said it was going to be a smooth recovery, and especially not   
   for employment,” said Douglas Porter, the deputy chief economist at BMO   
   Capital Markets.   
      
   The details of the report showed employment in the tourism related food   
   and beverage industry took a hard hit in the month, while a lack of   
   summer jobs weighed heavily on students.   
      
   Stewart Hall, an economist at HSBC Securities, said the employment data   
   would look even worse if it were not for a 35,000 rise in self   
   employment, a category that has risen by a whopping 102,500 since July   
   2008.   
      
   “We remain skeptical of the category and question what in the midst of   
   a recession these people are doing with their time and what   
   contribution to GDP could reasonably be expected,” Mr. Hall said.   
      
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