Canadians try self-employment

More and more Canadians are embracing a do-it-yourself economic recovery as the ranks of the self-employed swelled in April, according to new Statistics Canada's jobs data.

'It's better than nothing'

A growing number of Canadians are embracing a do-it-yourself economic recovery as the ranks of the self-employed swelled in April, according to new Statistics Canada's jobs data.

The government data-gathering agency said about 37,000 Canadians began new jobs last month as their own bosses. This helped power a surprising 35,900-gain in overall jobs in April, surprising analysts who expected 50,000 people to be chopped from the country's payrolls. As a result, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at eight per cent.

Analysts say the increase among the self-employed is largely the result of people giving up, at least for the time being, looking for a full-time job amidst the worst economic downturn in the post-Second World War period.

"It is better than nothing," said Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets. "And for some people, it is a rewarding position, but at a lower income."

Carlos Leitao, chief economist at Laurentian Bank Securities, said it is common during a downturn -- much like in the early 1990s -- for more people to try and strike out on their own after losing a job. In fact, during the 1990s recession, it was the only source of jobs strength.

"It is a pattern you usually see, but it is a little faster and a little stronger than the previous recession," he said. "And the rate of success is not very likely."

Nevertheless, Canada's employment data provided another piece of evidence that the worst of this downturn may be behind us, and helped fuel big rallies in the Canadian dollar and the Toronto Stock Exchange's benchmark index.

The currency gained 1.69 cents to close the day at another six-month high of US86.98 cents. Meanwhile, the S&P/TSX composite index posted another triple-digit gain, closing up 270.94 points, or 2.72 per cent, to finish at 10,237.99.

Also aiding positive market sentiment was U.S. jobs data that indicated 539,000 jobs were lost in April, which was slightly better than expectations and represented the slowest pace of losses since last October.

But the Canadian data are what caught people's eyes. Besides the unexpected gain, the report indicated that the pace of full-time job losses has stabilized.

Just more than 10,000 people lost full-time, private-sector jobs in April, well below the monthly average of 60,750 recorded from December to March.