Employment data to back slow growth
OTTAWA — The coming week`s data on Canadian employment is expected to be indicative of an economy that continues to grow, albeit at a slow pace.
Statistics Canada reports job figures for October on Friday, with economists expecting a gain of 15,000 people for the month and an unemployment rate remaining at eight per cent.
That would be an improvement over the 6,600 job losses in September, which was the second month in three to post declines, with July being the only other month this year that has seen an overall loss.
Still, the anticipated job gains for October would mark a sharp reduction from the average monthly growth of about 35,000 jobs so far this year.
"After creating nearly 330,000 jobs since the start of the year, the pace of job growth has slowed in recent months . . . ," said David Tulk, senior strategist with TD Securities. "This expected moderation was recently reflected in the employment component of the (Bank of Canada`s) Q3 business outlook survey, which showed that just 39 per cent of respondents intend to increase employment."
Tulk forecast that 10,000 people joined the ranks of the employed in October, though he still sees the jobless rate inching up to 8.1 per cent as more people joined the job hunt.
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