Canada loses 200,000 jobs, nearly double the blow economists expected

Statistics Canada’s January Labour Force Survey found that hours worked dropped 2.2 per cent from December, when hours had returned to pre-pandemic levels. A decline in economic activity of that size will interrupt the momentum the economy had built over the latter half of 2021...

The unemployment rate jumped to 6.5 per cent from six per cent, and employment dropped by 200,000 positions, more than most Bay Street forecasters were expecting. The numbers confirm anecdotal evidence of what happened as provincial governments reintroduced restrictions at restaurants, arenas and other high-touch businesses to limit the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. Those restrictions are now beginning to loosen...

This article is exerpted from the February 4, 2022 edition of the Financial Post.