Rates have gone a touch higher this morning as markets everywhere reflect continued optimism and support for the ongoing global growth story.
This morning was a big one for data in Canada as the March employment numbers were released. The headline Net Change in Employment was weak, but this was misleading: Canada added 90,600 full time jobs during the month, and lost 92,100 part time jobs so the jobs machine is a lot stronger than the net decline suggests. Our bond market would have rallied sharply if the true picture was as weak as the headline.
The Unemployment Rate declined to 7.7% from 7.8% as the Labour Force Participation Rate declined, and annualized housing starts of 189k were higher than the 181k expected.
A story that has received relatively little attention from the press is the budget stalemate down south. At midnight tonight many branches of the US government may shut down as the latest federal budget has not been approved by the Republicans, pending certain concessions. This won’t have a large economic impact (unless it becomes really drawn out), but serves as a reminder of how ill-equipped the US political system is to deal with that nation’s biggest challenges in over half a century.
Tags: Canada, Employment, Unemployment rate, Labour Force Participatiion Rate, Housing Starts, Market Commentary, Mortgages, Apartment, Lending, Financing, CMHC, Multi-Family, Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Halifax