They called it the “Target effect” when the giant U.S. retailer came to Canada a couple of years ago and helped drive down consumer prices.
A new version might be: Driving up job losses.
The impact of Target Corp.’s shutdown in Canada, along with the loss of jobs at Future Shop, appears to be showing up in the latest jobs numbers, as The Globe and Mail’s Tavia Grant reports today.
Canada lost 19,700 jobs in April, according to Statistics Canada, as full-time work climbed by a healthy 46,900 but the country shed 66,500 part-timers.
The unemployment rate held steady at 6.8 per cent.
Statistics Canada’s “trade” measure, which includes the retail sector, lost 21,000 positions, which observers linked to the hit from Target and Future Shop.
“The reported closure of several stores by a couple of major retailers likely had a negative impact on employment — which was captured by the 21,000 decline in the ‘trade’ category,” said National Bank senior economist Krishen Rangasamy.
