The weaker than expected 5,700 decline in employment in January, was a poor start to the year and provides more evidence that the economy is struggling to cope with the collapse in oil prices. The unemployment rate rose to 7.2%, from 7.1%, and we expect it to rise as high as 7.8% early next year.
Subscriber content
Read this in full, free
Start a free trial and use one of your 10 free starter credits to unlock this piece.