Though markets on Bay St. and Wall St. pushed higher on Friday morning, a major mover on both sides of the border were jobs reports that told two different stories on each of their economies.
The Canadian unemployment rate pushed higher in November, according to data from Statistics Canada. The economy sustained its biggest monthly job loss since the financial crisis, slashing 71,200 jobs last month. The unemployment rate rose to 5.9% to its highest point since reaching 6% in August 2018.
Meanwhile, many in the US were relieved to learn that the economy wasn’t in as precarious a position as previously thought, when government data reported far more jobs were created last month than expected.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that 266,000 nonfarm payrolls were created, pushing the unemployment rate to a historically low 3.5%. 50,000 of those came from idled
General Motors (NYSE: GM) workers on strike.
November marked the 110th consecutive month of job gains in the US.
Canada’s drop came just after the Bank of Canada decided to keep its key interest rate on hold earlier this week at 1.75%, where it has been for more than a year. The central bank’s move stood apart from the international trend, in light of the ongoing trade dispute between the US and China. The Bank of Canada said the economy had remained resilient despite the global uncertainty. Major banks were higher in early trading.
Eyes were on Retail company
Roots (TSX: ROOT), who facing several challenges, stated that its
Q3 2019 earnings dipped from last year, below its own target range.