North America’s four major stock market indices shuffled sideways in June. The only month-end to month-end gainer versus May was NASDAQ, at +3.4%. The other three indices stayed flat. Stock markets usually try to get out front of economic activity and profit levels by six months. Indications that much of the negative news was slowing, and in some cases reversing, caused up-ticks in stock prices over the previous several months. However, this momentum has dissipated and uncertainty has set in.

Against the backdrop of a rapidly contracting economy that saw GDP drop by 5.4% quarter over quarter at annual rates, Canada’s population increased by 0.26% in Q1 2009, its strongest first quarter growth rate since 2001.

Based on the fact that Manitoba’s unemployment rate, currently 4.9%, is 40% lower than the national average (8.4%), it is clear that the province has, to date, only been sideswiped by the recession that hit the rest of country head-on.

The U.S.  economy has been shedding jobs consistently on a month-to-month basis since January 2008. From January to May of this year, job losses continued, but on a steadily declining basis. Unfortunately, the recent record of relative progress was sidetracked in June, according to the latest labor market report from the U.S.  Bureau of Labor Statistics. In June, the employment drop was -467,000, which was significantly higher than the previous month’s -322,000 figure. This report goes on to examine (in text and graphs) employment changes in key labor market sub-sectors.