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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Canada's economy still ahead of pack

By: Julian Beltrame

Posted: 06/5/2010 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

OTTAWA, Ont. -- The Canadian economy keeps beating expectations and most of the industrialized world in its ability to create jobs.

But market reaction was muted at best Friday as U.S. jobs numbers were dismal and a new wrinkle in the European sovereign debt crisis cast a cloud over global growth, calling into question just how far ahead of its peers Canada's economy can remain.

The Canadian economy seems very far ahead of its peers now -- particularly in the repairing of its labour market -- with Friday's report that 24,700 new jobs were added in May and an astounding 67,300 full-time jobs, most of them from employers and in the private sector.

In Manitoba 1,400 jobs were added in May in addition to the 6,800 created in April.

But the new job growth was overwhelmed by a substantial addition of 7,100 people to the labour force in this province, creating the highest participation rate -- 70.4 per cent -- recorded in Manitoba since record-keeping began in 1976.

The larger labour force in the month also meant an increase in the unemployment rate in Manitoba to 5.7 per cent, up from 4.9 per cent in April. Manitoba's unemployment rate continues to be second-lowest in the country next to Saskatchewan.

Manitoba's unemployment rate from January to May remains at 5.3 per cent.

With such underlying strong numbers, the news that 28,000 self-employed and 42,500 part-time jobs vanished nationally was interpreted as an indicator of underlying strength -- employers turning part-timers into full-timers and the involuntarily self-employed finding a regular paycheque.

"This is very, very solid. There's no other way to characterize it after a record April," said economist Benjamin Reitzes of BMO Capital Markets.

-- The Canadian Press, staff

Beating expectations

Canada's national unemployment rate was 8.1 per cent in May. Here are the provincial figures (previous month in brackets):

-- Newfoundland 13.8 (15.0)

-- Prince Edward Island 10.7 (9.5)

-- Nova Scotia 8.7 (8.6)

-- New Brunswick 8.8 (8.5)

-- Quebec 8.0 (7.9)

-- Ontario 8.9 (8.8)

-- Manitoba 5.7 (4.9)

-- Saskatchewan 5.0 (5.2)

-- Alberta 6.6 (7.4)

-- British Columbia 7.5 (7.3)

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 5, 2010 B5

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