Canadians once again struggled to find work in February as jobs creation fell short of expectations with 2,800 positions lost in the month, continuing a trend of disappointing numbers since the summer.
The unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 per cent as more people stopped looking for jobs, according to Statistics Canada.
Saskatoon's unemployment rate was at six per cent in February compared to 5.9 per cent one month earlier, while the provincial rate is five per cent, unchanged from the previous month.
Economists had expected a modest 15,000 pick-up in the month, if only because the last seven months has seen job creation slow to a trickle.
But the big story Friday was the exodus of workers from the job market last month. Nationally, 37,900 fewer Canadians were looking for work last month, and in Ontario, the labour force shrank by 40,500.
The contraction in the labour force resulted in the drop in the unemployment rate even though there were fewer workers.
The other alarming data was that employment among youth, those in the 15-24 age category, fell for the fifth straight month, dropping another 26,800 jobs in February. A report by TD Bank on Thursday found there are 250,000 fewer young Canadians working today than was the case before the recession hit.
Labour market contraction at a time of rising population is normally associated with discouraged workers giving up on finding employment.
