Statistics Canada publish job numbers in January

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada This morning tells how the Canadian labor market operated in January as COVID-19 cases are on the rise as much of the country is locked up.

Economists have warned that stricter restrictions and business closures could lead to job losses last month.

Refinitive, a financial data firm, estimates that the average economist estimate of 47,500 job losses and unemployment in January was 8.9 percent.

The losses in January mark the second month in a row that the labor market has shrunk after 63,000 posts disappeared in December to break a continuum of monthly gains that began in May 2020.

In December, the unemployment rate was 8.6 percent, but it would have been 10.9 percent, if figures were included in the Canadian calculations for job seekers even if Canadians wanted to work.

Brendan Bernard, an economist with a job posting website, writes that in fact, whether other parts of the economy show retail after the holiday shopping season is a key issue, as seen in the already severely affected service sector.

This report of the Canadian edition was first published on February 5, 2021.

The Canadian Press