Canada’s unemployment rate rises, manufacturing jobs take hardest hit

Voice Over: The fallout from the simmering trade wars showing up in Canada’s job numbers.

Guio Jacinto: We’ve been seeing some layoffs from our membership. We’re also seeing declines in in hours as as production sort of recedes, as there’s less demand. Unfortunately too. We’re also seeing a closure as well.

Voice Over: Canada’s unemployment rate ticked up to 6.9%.

The biggest contributor, 31,000 lost manufacturing jobs, including the auto sector and industries

Guio Jacinto: linked to it like steel. The auto sector does pull a lot of steel from our steel mills and from the domestic steel supply chain, there’s about 900 kilograms to a ton, uh, of steel stealing a car. Uh, your average car,

Brendon Bernard: these April numbers were that first real sign.

Voice Over: This economist says, as long as tariffs are in place, losses will continue in manufacturing and beyond

Brendon Bernard: over time. That if, if that persists, then that’s gonna lead to spillovers in the rest of the economy.

Voice Over: The spillover is affecting young job seekers like Ben Gooch. The 24-year-old has a degree in mechanical engineering.

He’s already done more than a hundred interviews in the past year. I’m kind of waiting for life to start to start

Ben Gooch: working

Voice Over: towards those milestones. Guch is hardly alone. The current unemployment rate matches the highest in eight years outside of the pandemic. According to Statistics, Canada, 189,000 more people are looking for work this

Ben Gooch: April compared to a year ago.

My generation has been very pushed. To get degrees and to achieve like higher levels of education. And then you get that and it’s like, why’d I do this?

Brendon Bernard: And it could continue to worsen into the summer. Employers are holding off on hiring, uh, job seekers across those circumstances. Uh, are are facing difficult conditions,

Voice Over: the job market and the health of Canada’s economy, depending in part on whether this seemingly friendlier relationship can lead to change.

Jamie Stren, CBC News, Toronto.

Source: https://youtu.be/bV8RuKxpgro