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Canada jobs losses pushes loonie to 2009 low
The Canadian dollar fell to its weakest level since 2009 on Friday after a disappointing Canadian unemployment report. The country lost a net 1000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate was bumped up to 6.8 percent from a prior 6.6 percent. Forecasts called for the rate to rise to 6.7 percent. January showed a gain of 35,000 positions.
Most of the job cuts were in the natural resources sector, as the plunge in oil prices cut deeper into the industry, which shed about 20,000 jobs – including in mining, oil and gas extraction. Employers providing support services took the biggest hit.
The oil-rich province of Alberta recorded the biggest decline, with 14,000 fewer jobs overall during February — pushing the unemployment rate to 5.3 percent, the highest level since September 2011, from 4.5 percent a month earlier.
Overall this wasn’t good news for the Canadian economy, but news that was largely expected, considering the country’s major export is oil, whose prices have been falling sharply.
The USD/CAD rise to a six-year high of $1.2822 on Friday after the jobs report.
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