Canadian job security sentiment hits lowest level since early pandemic

The current level of perceived job insecurity is particularly striking, considering many economists predict a soft landing for the Canadian economy following recent interest rate hikes. It mirrors the sentiment following the catastrophic job losses of April 2020, when pandemic restrictions caused the worst single-month decline in employment in Canadian history.

According to the latest figures from Canada’s statistics agency, the country experienced a minor job loss in March, with 2,200 jobs disappearing, which pushed the unemployment rate up by 0.3 percentage points to 6.1%. This was contrary to economic forecasts by Bloomberg, which had projected a job increase of 25,000 for the month.

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The Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index, which has been tracking Canadians’ sentiments on personal finances, job security, the economy, and real estate prices since 2008, is based on weekly surveys of about 250 Canadians. The results published are four-week rolling averages from 1,000 telephone responses, with a margin of error of about 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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