Canada adds jobs in Feb., unemployment rate dips to 8.2%

Canadian companies put older men back to work in February, adding more jobs than expected and taking the unemployment rate down to 8.2%.

Canadian companies hired 21,000 people in the month, Statistics Canada said. That compares with economists’ forecasts for an increase of 15,000. Men, aged 55 and over, accounted for all of February’s employment gain, StatsCan said.

Employment was little changed for core-age workers between 25 and 54, youths and older women, it said.

“It illustrates that the baby-boomers aren’t babies any longer,” said HSBC economist Stewart Hall. “It shows we have an ageing demographic that means the economy will need to evolve from working harder to working smarter.”

As Canada’s population ages, studies have pointed to the fact the problem in the future many be too few people, not too few jobs. To make up the shortfall, the economy will need to boost productivity levels, economists say.

In the shorter term, Friday’s figures added to other statistics this week, such as the trade surplus and new housing prices, showing Canada’s economy is growing steadily. The data may push the Bank of Canada into raising interest rates as early as July, some economists have said.

After the jobs report, the Canadian dollar rose as high as $1.0160, or 98.43 US cents, its strongest level since July 2008 and up from $1.0234, or 97.71 US cents, earlier in the day.

Canada is enjoying a combination of improving economic fundamentals and bullish technicals,” Knightsbridge Foreign Exchange said in a morning note.

Liberal MP John McCallum gave a cautious welcome to the jobs report, but warned the recovery is still fragile.

"We have close to 300,000 jobs less today than we did in October 2008, which was the peak," he said. " So, yes, I'm pleased that we created jobs but this does not change the point that we have a big, big mountain to climb."

McCallum accused the government of ignoring proposals that would have created jobs and instead adopting policies, such as hiking E.I. premiums, that would put employment at risk.

Today's report showed that companies added 60,000 full-time positions, but shed 39,000 part-time posts.

Most of February's increase was in the public sector, which added 46,000 jobs.

Outside of the public sector, most of the gains came from the hospitality, natural resources, building and health care sectors. Accommodation and food services businesses took on 27,000 workers, while building and other support services hired 18,000.

Despite February’s gains employment in the goods sector remained 326,000 below its October 2008 level, with manufacturing accounting for the bulk of that with 206,000 losses.

Finance and insurance companies shed workers, as did retail and wholesale trade. Stores and wholesalers dropped 34,000 jobs, while finance-related companies shed 22,000.

In February, employment increased in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, while it declined in Alberta. There was little change in the other provinces.