February 2012 Canadian Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Jobs stall brings call for cancellation of government spending cuts




OTTAWA ` Canada`s jobs engine appears to have stalled in line with economic growth, prompting some leading economists to call on Ottawa to hold off announced spending cuts.




The country`s unemployment rate rose to a nine-month high of 7.6 per cent last month, Statistics Canada reported Friday, as an addition of a mere 2,300 jobs proved insufficient to cover the increase of 23,700 Canadians looking for work.




If it had been a one-month blip, economists might have looked the other way. But January was merely the continuation of a half-year stretch of disappointing results. Since October, the economy has shed an average of just under 10,000 workers a month.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canadian job: It's oil sands all the time




Statistics Canada reported Friday that of the jobs created in January 65% were in Alberta.




The heart of Canada`s energy industry, Alberta`s unemployment rate remained at below 5% January, by a healthy margin the lowest in the country. The province created 79,500 jobs over the last year.




That compares with the national average that increased to 7.6% according to the latest stats and figures above 8% in Ontario and a whopping 13.5% in Newfoundland Labrador.





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[Ally]

Go West: Jobs and money leaving Eastern Canada




Canada's jobs market is mirroring the country's sharply divided economic landscape, as the resource-rich West hungers for workers while confidence falters among employers in the East.




The country's jobless rate hit a nine-month high of 7.6 per cent in January and job growth has stalled since last summer.





Behind the aggregate figures, though, a clear picture of the country's diverging economic fortunes emerges. Unemployment rates are higher than the national average in every province east of Manitoba, and below the average across the four western provinces.




"The attitudes that you see in the West are very different from Eastern or Central Canada," said Hilary Predy, Edmonton-based associate vice president at Adecco, one of the largest staffing firms in Canada.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada January unemployment rate edges up to 7.6%; Job creation flat




OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says the country's unemployment rate rose to 7.6 per cent last month as the economy continued to struggle to produce new jobs.




Employment increased by a statistically insignificant 2,300 jobs.





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[Ally]

Canada's jobless rate hits 9-month high




Canada's unemployment rate rose to 7.6 per cent in January according to Statistics Canada, a 0.1 per cent increase, as 23,700 more people searched for work.




The Canadian economy added only 2,300 jobs last month, according to figures released Friday. That fell far below the 24,500 jobs that economists had predicted would be created.




Last month's numbers were disappointing for anyone looking for work across the country, with the unemployment rate rising in Atlantic Canada and Ontario in January and little changed in the other provinces.





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[Ally]

Census 2012: Canada's growth rate leads G8, population hits 33.5 million





Canada's population of 33.5 million people is growing faster than that of any other G8 nation ` fuelled primarily by immigration ` while the booming West continues to reshape this country's demographic landscape, a new census has revealed.







The latest national headcount, released Wednesday by Statistics Canada, shows strong and steady growth in nearly every corner of a country that remains firmly in the grip of a westward shift in population power.






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[Ally]

Immigrants are our bread and butter and the census proves it




There are more of us ` 33.47 million, according to the census. But far too many of us are aged 65 and up ` 5 million. The proportion of seniors will, in fact, grow more rapidly in the coming years as the first wave of baby boomers reaches 65.




Therefore, we need more young people in the workforce. We need them for our collective prosperity and, especially, to pay for our pensions, old age security and health care.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Economic recovery depends on the U.S.



A sustained recovery in the U.S. is one of the most important aspects of improving Canada`s economy.





Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at RBC Royal Bank, said the U.S. is starting to see an improvement in employment with 250,000 jobs created in January. That compares with 850,000 jobs lost in January 2009.





`Their numbers are starting to turn around,` said Ferley, who predicts 2.4 per cent growth in the U.S. in 2012 and three per cent in 2013. `Not bad, but still a modest recovery.`





Ferley, guest speaker at the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce breakfast meeting on Tuesday, said the local economy is outpacing the province, but the future hinges on continued economic U.S. growth.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Housing starts dip in January, but beat forecasts




Canadian housing starts declined in January from December but were above expectations, with a slowdown in the multiple unit segment accounting for most of the weakness, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC)said on Wednesday.




The seasonally adjusted annualized rate of housing starts was 197,900 units, compared with 199,900 units a month earlier. The December figure was revised down slightly from 200,200 units previously.





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[Ally]

Rural roots no more: Canada an urban nation





OTTAWA - Canada was once a nation of farmers and small-town folk. But new census data shows the country`s largest cities continue to be a magnet pulling in people from rural areas.







Fewer than one in five Canadians now live in rural areas, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday when it released its first batch of numbers from the 2011 census.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Job opportunities bring people west





Ottawa (The Canadian Press) -- The population in provinces west of Ontario has surpassed that to the east of Canada's largest province.







According to 2011 census data, the provinces west of Ontario now make up 30.7 per cent of Canada's population, compared to 30.6 per cent for Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes. Statistics Canada said the western provinces are attracting growing numbers of immigrants and eastern Canadians over increased job opportunities.







Aside from the promise of jobs and wealth linked to the oilpatch, the allure of the west is also trade routes, said Roger Gibbins, president of the Canada West Foundation. As the centre of the global economy shifts from Europe and the U.S. to Asia, Gibbins said, Canada's Pacific trade routes are more important than the Atlantic trade routes.







Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Some warnings for Quebec in the census data





There is some comfort for Quebecers in the newly released figures from last year's national census, but nothing to merit complacency.




The comfort is that Quebec's population has grown since the last survey, five years ago, and population losses due to migration of Quebec residents to other provinces are in decline.




What should be worrisome is that Quebec's population growth rate of 4.7 per cent over the period since the last census lags notably behind the overall Canadian average of 5.9 per cent, and significantly behind the best performing areas of the country.






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[Ally]

Middle class moving out of the Yukon




After one year in Whitehorse, John Jones is considering quitting his high-paying job, packing up his young family and heading south.




`We would love to stay - it`s a little piece of heaven up here,` said the engineer, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of employment and housing repercussions.




`But we can`t afford a house.`




Jones isn`t asking for much.




`I`m not after a mansion,` he said.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

U.S. economic growth may outpace Canada in 2012




OTTAWA - It's going to get harder for Prime Minister Harper and his ministers to keep boasting that Canada is No. 1 among economic rivals.




As the year unfolds, analysts say it will become increasingly apparent that Canada no longer leads the G7 in economic growth and job creation.




And as unlikely as it seems, it's the United States ` the land of crippling trade deficits, high unemployment and government debt ` that's likely to relegate Canada to second place, if not third behind Germany.




Don't look now, they say, but the U.S. is likely to beat out Canada in economic growth this year and leave its northern neighbour at the starting gate in terms of jobs creation.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

BMO's record-low rate likely to spur competition




The Bank of Montreal announced Thursday it is lowering its rate on five-year fixed mortgages to 2.99 per cent, an all-time record low in Canada.




The move is expected to set off a wave of competition among the country`s mortgage issuers, and comes as market observers grow increasingly uneasy about Canada`s prolonged housing boom.




According to the Montreal Gazette, the Royal Bank of Canada has told mortgage brokers it will be lowering its mortgage rates to match BMO. TD Canada Trust also lowered its mortgage rate this week, bringing its six-year fixed mortgage down by 1.3 percentage points, to 3.79 per cent.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

New home prices edge higher in December





OTTAWA ` Prices for new homes in Canada edged up in December, led by the Toronto and Montreal regions, Statistics Canada said Thursday.




Prices rose 0.1% during the month, following a 0.3% increase in November, the federal agency said. The December increase was slightly below economists` forecasts for a 0.2% gain.




On a year-over-year basis, prices were up 2.5%.






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[Ally]

Battling Ontario for immigrants




It's Ottawa's version of gladiator games, with the provinces all thrown together into a single arena to see which one will emerge victorious.





The battle is over the suddenly fashionable provincial nominee immigration program, which several provinces, Manitoba among them, have used to boost populations and fill holes in their labour markets. Unfortunately, Ottawa, which has concerns about the way some provinces are administering the program, is refusing to increase the total number of provincial nominees. Ottawa is also making the requirements for admission more stringent. In particular, the federal government wants to see more emphasis on English- or French-language proficiency.





The timing of Ottawa's stinginess couldn't be worse, as there is increasing demand for provincial nominees, both by provinces such as Manitoba that have used it to spur economic growth, and by provinces such as Ontario that have largely ignored the program but now desperately need population growth to restart their economies.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada jobs and labour: 5 signs workers are in for a rough 2012




If there is any doubt that Canadian workers are in for a tough year, consider the cluster of gloomy developments that have taken shape in recent days.




Though Canada`s job market emerged from the recession in a position of relative strength, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that job growth in January left much to be desired, with the economy adding just 2,300 jobs, a far cry from the 24,000 jobs analysts were expecting.




`This is a weak performance over the past six months,` says Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC World Markets, who notes that the rate of job growth hasn`t been this slow outside of a downturn since the 1970s.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Canada jobs and labour: 5 signs workers are in for a tough 2012




If there is any doubt that Canadian workers are in for a tough year, consider the cluster of gloomy developments that have taken shape in recent days.




Though Canada`s job market emerged from the recession in a position of relative strength, Statistics Canada reported on Friday that job growth in January left much to be desired, with the economy adding just 2,300 jobs, a far cry from the 24,000 jobs analysts were expecting.




`This is a weak performance over the past six months,` says Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist at CIBC World Markets, who notes that the rate of job growth hasn`t been this slow outside of a downturn since the 1970s.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Central Canada cashes in on some of the western oil boom





CALGARY, Alberta - Oak Point Energy Ltd is an Alberta start-up looking to make its mark in the booming oil sands sector, and Ontario figures big in its plans.







Oak Point, founded by two Alberta energy veterans, has developed an innovative modular system to produce bitumen from the oil sands, an off-the-shelf product offering some protection against cost inflation that's creeping back into new projects.







Tapping Eastern Canada's manufacturing sector to build the gear for the West's booming energy industry is one way to beat back cost pressures while allowing other parts of Canada to cash in on the opportunity, said Ken James, privately held Oak Point's co-president and chief executive.






Read the full article here.