Canada loses 19,700 jobs in April

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Statistics Canada says the economy lost almost 20,000 jobs in April.

That didn’t affect the national unemployment rate which held steady at 6.8 per cent for the third straight month. The survey found that the country added almost 50,000 net full-time positions and shed nearly 70,000 part-time jobs between March and April.

Hamilton’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.6 per cent in march, to 5.2 per cent in April. That puts the city well under the national 6.3 per cent unemployment rate. St Catharines was above the national average at 6.4 and Toronto held steady at 7.3.

Ontario economic development minister Brad Duguid says the recent closure of Target in Canada also played a role in these numbers. “There’s a lot of transition in the retail sector.”

“We just had Target not too long ago lay off a number of people across the country and Ontario. Some of those folks are finding work in places like Home Depot and places like Walmart which is expanding and buying some of those locations. But I think it’s safe to say the fluctuations in the retail sector are are probably having an impact on part-time jobs.”

Economists predicted the loss of jobs would be a lot lower; they expected Canada to lose only about 5,000 jobs. The Canadian statistics are in line with American numbers, also released today.