Perceived Job Security - Highest it's been in 3 years

Rising optimism among Canadians about job security, real-estate prices and personal finances pushed a gauge of consumer confidence to the highest in more than two months, survey data show.

The share of Canadian consumers who say their jobs are at least somewhat secure rose to 70.7 percent in the week ended Sept. 26, the highest since September 2011, according to the Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index.

Growing confidence in Ontario is driving optimism nationally. Sentiment in the Canada’s most-populous province rose last week to 63.0, the highest since December 2009. Ontario, which accounts for the majority of the nation’s automobile manufacturing, stands to gain the most from an accelerating U.S. economy, analysts predict.

“If this trend in more positive consumer confidence continues in Ontario, a key pillar in the Canadian economy, it will have significant implications for the midterm economic outlook,” said Nik Nanos, chairman of Ottawa-based polling firm Nanos Research Group.

The broad consumer confidence index climbed to 60.0 from 59.3 in the prior week. Gauges of sentiment about personal finances and real-estate prices also rose, while optimism about the prospects for the economy declined.

Job sentiment has improved even as the labor market struggles through its worst slump since the 2009 recession, with a tendency toward part-time job creation restraining income growth in the world’s 11th largest economy. Employment has grown by an average of 9,130 per month since the start of 2013, compared with 21,700 from the end of the recession in July 2009 to December 2012, Statistics Canada data show.

Source