Canadian Unemployment Rate Edges Down To 8.2%

(RTTNews) - Canada's unemployment rate edged lower in February as the economy created nearly 21,000 jobs, fueling expectations that policy makers in Ottawa will raise interest rates sooner than previously expected.

Employment rose by 20,900 in February, with large gains in full-time work partly offset by losses in part time, according to data released Friday morning by Statistics Canada.

The unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 8.2% in February.

Canada's loonie surged against the US dollar following the release of the report, hitting its highest level since August 2008. The loonie touched C$1.0160, and is likely to hit parity if commodity prices continue a recent uptrend.

Employment has been on the rise since July 2009, with employers adding 159,000 to payrolls during that period. This contrasts with the sharp drop of 417,000 between the peak in October 2008 and July 2009, the agency noted.

Full-time work rose 60,000 in February, which was partially offset by a decline in part time (-39,000). Since the summer of 2009, employment growth has been all in full time.

Continuing on an upward trend sustained throughout the labor market downturn, employment for men aged 55 and over increased by 26,000 in February. This pushed the unemployment rate for this group down 0.6 percentage points to 7.1%.

Within the goods sector, employment increased in by 17,000 in manufacturing and by 11,000 in natural resources in February.

Economic figures released over the last few months have signaled that Canada's economic recovery is on solid ground. The nation's housing market has improved along with the employment situation, putting pressure on the Bank of Canada to hike its key lending rates.

BoC Governor Mark Carney said as recently as yesterday it was "appropriate" policy to keep the benchmark overnight rate at a record low 0.25%.