Falling participation rate a sign of a soft job market
A close look at today's labour force numbers indicates that fewer Canadians in all age groups are either working or are unemployed and actively seeking work.
While it is influenced by demographic trends such as an aging population, a falling participation rate is generally a sign that people have given up looking for jobs due to a low level of hiring by employers.
The overall participation rate in March was 66.2%, well down from 66.6% in March, 2013.
This very significant decline was mainly experienced among so-called core age workers age 25 to 54. For men in this age...