Futures traders are reacting in typically positively fashion to poor employment numbers released on both sides of the border, pointing to a good day for the equity markets.

A weak jobless report has hurt the Canadian dollar. It shot up to US74.39¢ on Thursday, but has fallen to US74.12¢ this morning.

Statistics Canada said that employment dipped 13,000 in May. It’s the second consecutive monthly decline. A jump in the number of people entering the labour market in search of work pushed the unemployment rate up 0.3 percentage points to 7.8%. Youths accounted for most of the full-time decline in May.

In the first five months of the year, employment has increased 35,000, or 0.2%, not enough to keep pace with population growth. In the same period of 2002, employment had surged 249,000 (+1.6%). Health care employment in Ontario recovered in May from the losses in April, while a gain in accommodation and food only partially offset the loss in April.

The U.S. Department of Labour is reporting an even more significant decline in employment, although the number was in line with analyst expectations. The U.S. unemployment rate climbed to a nine-year high in May as businesses continued to cut jobs. The jobless rate rose to 6.1% during the month from 6% in April. That’s the highest that gauge has been since July 1994. Non-farm business payrolls declined 17,000 in May after holding steady in April, the Labor Department said Friday.

The Labour Department attributed the decline in payrolls mostly to cuts in the manufacturing industry, which trimmed 53,000 jobs. The industry has lost 2.6 million jobs since July 2000. The services-producing industry added 12,000 jobs, barely a fifth of the jobs created in the industry in April. Retail trade jobs declined by 14,000. The construction industry added 26,000 jobs, marking the third consecutive month of gains.

In Europe, bourses are up at midday. London’s FTSE 100 has risen 1.11%. Frankfurt’s DAX has climbed 1.46% and Paris’s CAC 40 gained 0.87% this morning.

In Asia, Friday trading also showed gains. Japan’s Nikkei added 128.64 points, or 1.49%, to 8,785.87. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 55.62 points, or 0.58%, to 9,694.63.