CANADIAN AUGUST EMPLOYMENT
- Canada 246,000 jobs in August vs 240,000 expected.
- Canadian employment is now within 1.1 million of pre-COVID February level
- Full time jobs were up 206,000
- Women added 150,000 new jobs; men added 96,000
- Canadians working from home in August reached 2.5 million vs 3.4 million in April
- Unemployment rate 10.2% vs 10.9% M/M.
- Visible minorities unemployment rate ranges from 16.6% to 17.9% depending upon ethnicity
- Provincially:
- Ontario added 142,000 jobs (nearly all full time) and is within 93.6% of pre-pandemic level
- Quebec added 54,000 jobs and is within 95.7% of pre-pandemic level
- BC added 15,000 jobs to 94.1% of pre-pandemic level.
ALBERTA EMPLOYMENT
- Alberta added 9,700 jobs in August (8,200 full time)
- Unemployment rate 11.8% vs 12.8%
- Edmonton added 24,400 jobs; unemployment rate 13.6% vs 15% M/M
- Calgary added 26,900 jobs; unemployment rate 14.4% vs 15.5% M/M
UNITED STATES AUGUST EMPLOYMENT
- US added 1,370,000 in August vs 1,350,000 expected.
- Includes 238,000 temporary Census workers
- Unemployment rate fell to 8.4% vs 10.2% in July (4th consecutive decline)
- Number of unemployed fell to 13.6 million vs 16.4 million in July (4th consecutive decline)
- February had 7.8 million unemployed
- Number of permanent job losses increased 534,000 in August to 3.4 million.
- Participation rate rose to 61.7% vs 61.4% in July
TIDBITS
- BC government is delaying the implementation of several taxes, including increasing the carbon tax, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Westjet and Vancouver International Airport have launched a pilot project to test passengers for COVID-19 on departing flights.
- Hybrit, a Swedish company, is testing operations for the production of fossil-free iron.
- Aim is to reduce CO2 emissions to 25 kg per metric ton of steel using hydrogen power vs 1.6 tons of CO2 produced using traditional methods
- Unilever is spending $1 billion to rid its cleaning products of fossil fuels by 2030 and is planning to zero out emissions from operations and suppliers by 2039.
- European Union has vowed to create a raw-materials alliance by the end of 2020 so they do not have to rely entirely on third countries.
- Trump’s administration is relaxing requirements to reduce toxic heavy metal pollution from coal-fired power plants.
- Walmart is launching its ‘Walmart Plus’ platform to compete with Amazon Prime in the next 2 weeks.
- Walmart Plus will include free shipping including groceries and discounts on gasoline
- An abandoned Sears Warehouse in Quebec now houses the world’s largest commercial rooftop greenhouse.
- Equivalent of 3 football fields worth of food.