Peter Letko, co-founder of Letko Brosseau Global Investment Management, expressed his positive outlook for Canada's economy, citing the country's infrastructure and growing population. He highlighted the strong nominal growth and the performance of the stock market. Letko also expressed disappointment with Canada's pension industry investing more outside the country. He emphasized that Canadian companies, particularly banks and insurance companies, offer high returns on investment and are highly regarded globally. [fe300060]
Canada's economy created more jobs than expected in September, with a gain of 64,000 jobs. However, economists caution that the labor market is weaker than it appears. Most of the job gains were in the education sector, which is historically volatile. Additionally, the majority of the new jobs were part-time, leading to a reduction in overall hours worked. While the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.5%, it is still below pre-pandemic levels. Economists believe that the labor market is not showing enough strength to indicate that the Bank of Canada's work is done. The central bank has left interest rates unchanged but has not ruled out future rate hikes depending on inflation and economic developments. The labor market and inflation are considered lagging indicators, so their response may be slower. Overall, the economy is performing better than expected, but there are concerns about the sustainability of the job gains. [a1de7721]
Canada’s employment data for September was reported by Statistics Canada on Friday, October 6. The data showed that job growth slowed to 12,000 in August, with the unemployment rate at 5.6%. Services were the main driver for job creation, while population growth led to a slight increase in the unemployment rate. The broader macroeconomic backdrop is continuing to soften, with the unemployment rate rising to 5.5% over July and August. The Bank of Canada is likely to remain on hold as a result of the climb in the unemployment rate. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics also released the September jobs report on the same day, showing a rise of 89,000 in private sector employment. The USD/CAD pair is trading near the resistance level of 1.3700. [2158f1ea]