The industry-wide Canadian employment data for March were a complete dud, with the number of jobs sliding 54,100 after a 40,200 slump in February, according to Statistics
Canada’s Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours. And remember, the Labour Force Survey for April showed virtually no rebound at all. The workweek was flat for the 10th
time in the past 11 months and down 0.2 per cent month over month in the goods-producing sector.
Interestingly, and rather disturbingly, you can’t even pin the trade battle on this horrible report because the manufacturing sector only posted a modest decline (1,800). The
vast majority of the employment loss was in the services sector (59,500). This came on the heels of a 32,700 contraction in February to mark the largest back-to-back declines
since the spring of 2020.
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The combined 3,500 slippage in manufacturing and transportation/warehousing is a sure sign that the Canadian dollar rally has been both problematic and worrisome when it
comes to aggravating the downturn in these export-oriented industries.
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Meanwhile, the heavy losses in real estate, construction, retail and finance are very important because these are the most interest-sensitive sectors of the economy and they are
begging Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem to provide more rate relief.
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The fact that accommodation/food services (basically the leisure-hospitality space), arguably the most domestically economic-sensitive segment of the economy and the heartbeat
of consumer discretionary spending, could sag 8,400 and falter now in each of the past three months is a telling statistic regarding the acceleration in financial stresses in the
household sector.
