Wood Markets News


Canadian Unemployment Increases 0.6% in January to 9.4%

Statistics Canada (StatCan) is reporting that January employment fell by 213,000 or -1.2%. The decline in January followed a 53,000 decline or -0.3% in December, bring employment to its lowest level since August 2020. Most of the January losses were in part-time work and concentrated in the Ontario and Quebec retail sectors and in Newfoundland and Labrador.

January 2021 Nonfarm Payroll Employment Numbers Basically Unchanged from December 2020

The U.S. Bureau of 0Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that total nonfarm payroll employment was basically unchanged in January 2021, increasing by only 49,000 from December. According to the BLS the improvement in the labor markets reflects the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it.