Canada’s unemployment rate (CANLXEMR) rose for a third month in December, the longest advance in two years, as a gain in jobs trailed growth of the labor force.
The jobless rate increased to 7.5 percent from November’s 7.4 percent and the recent low of 7.1 percent in September, Statistics Canada said today in Ottawa. Employment (CANLNETJ) rose by 17,500, the first gain in three months. Over the past six months, the number of jobs has grown by 7,400, compared with a gain of 191,800 in the first half of 2011.
The labor market may stay stalled in 2012 with unemployment averaging 7.4 percent, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists taken last month. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said job creation will be a top priority this year while Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said weak growth abroad and Europe’s fiscal crisis are the main risks to the country’s economy.
Full-time jobs fell by 25,500 in December while part-time employment rose by 43,100, Statistics Canada said today. Self- employed workers increased by 31,100, while workers classified as employees fell by 13,600.
Private-sector employment increased by 3,800 and public- sector jobs fell by 17,300.
Employment in the federal government may be curbed by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s pledge to eliminate a budget deficit by the fiscal year starting April 2015, in part by cutting annual government operating expenses by at least C$4 billion ($3.9 billion).
Some companies are also seeking to trim labor costs. Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction equipment, and Rio Tinto Group locked out workers at plants in Canada last weekend after labor talks broke down.
