Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – One year on, almost 10 percent of new businesses have already gone under, according to a time-series study by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) of businesses set up between 2003 and 2007. Only 50 percent of the companies founded in 2003 were still in business five years later, although the FSO points out that the jobs lost by failed businesses are partly made up for by those that survive and expand.
Canada created 27,000 jobs in August while the US lost 216,000 jobs during the same month, raising hopes in Canada that the national economy, which is highly dependent on its huge southern neighbour, the US, may have decoupled from it. The Canadian unemployment rate nevertheless rose slightly to 8.7 percent as the number of people looking for jobs still outpaced the jobs available. Since October 2008, which was the peak employment level in the current cycle, 387,000 fulltime jobs have disappeared, a decline of 2.3 percent.
Unemployment in the US climbed to 9.7 percent, its highest rate since 1983, according to the US Department of Labor.
