Ottawa: According to Statistics Canada, the Canadian economy lost 33,000 jobs in March, the most since January 2022. According to the bureau, the jobless rate increased little as well, from 6.6% in February to 6.7% in March. The loss of 62,000 full-time jobs during the month, which was somewhat offset by an increase in part-time employment, contributed to the overall decline. Some of the job gain that occurred at the close of last year and into January has reversed, according to the most recent figures. January witnessed the creation of 76,000 new employment, December saw the creation of 91,000, and February saw somewhat unchanged job figures.
The hit came amid increased uncertainty caused by U.S. tariffs that have threatened economic growth. RSM Canada economist Tu Nguyen said the result was a glimpse of what may be in store as the trade dispute with the U.S. ramps up and the country faces the possibility of a recession. “We saw a lot of layoffs happening in trade in March and we expect April to see even more layoffs and a rise in the unemployment rate,” she said. “Some manufacturing plants, especially in auto production, have already laid off their workers.”
The automaker Stellantis announced that they will be taking a two-week break from production at their assembly factory in Windsor, Ontario, in April. 3,200 Canadians will be affected, according to a corporate spokesman; however, these occupations are not included in the March figures that Statistics Canada provided today. Indeed, according to senior economist Brendon Bernard, the job fall was partly caused by delayed hiring. He also warns that tariff-related issues are probably coming. “This rate isn’t bad by historic standards, but we’re still waiting for the real hit from the trade war. With global stock markets now falling, the storm clouds in the horizon are quickly approaching,” Bernard said in a statement. But Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO, said trade uncertainty isn’t entirely to blame for the job losses so far. “The weakness was fairly broad-based that wasn’t just in the sectors that would be directly related to trade,” he said. “But this is [one of] the weakest reports we have seen in a number of years.”
According to data from StatsCan, the wholesale and retail trade industry experienced a 29,000 employment loss in March after seeing a 51,000 growth in February. Agriculture shed 9,300 jobs, while the information, cultural, and recreation industry lost 20,000. In the meantime, 12,000 new employment were created in the “other services” sector, which include repair and personal services. 4,200 was added by utilities. After declining by 1.3% in February, total hours worked increased by 0.4% in March. In March, the average hourly wage for employees increased 3.6% year over year.
