|  Canada shed 200K jobs in January, thanks to Omicron There were 200,000 fewer jobs last month in Canada as provinces reintroduced a number of public health measures to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. Most of the country’s job losses were in Ontario and Quebec, where some of the strictest measures were implemented. Food services and hotels were among the hardest hit, with jobs among young people and women most affected, according to Statistics Canada. The good news is economists aren’t expecting Omicron’s impacts on the labour market to extend beyond the first quarter of 2022. Meanwhile, the U.S. saw a surprise gain of 467,000 jobs last month despite the Omicron surge.  Milk prices in Canada are moving higher If you bought milk this past week, you may have had to pay more than usual. That’s because price increases as high as 15 per cent took effect Tuesday in some provinces to coincide with a spike in the price farmers are paid for the milk they produce. Consumer advocates say low-income families – who are already bearing the brunt of rising inflation – will be hit the hardest. "If families start being unable to provide milk to their kids or they start rationing it or diluting it, you're going to start to see an increase in health concerns," Arianna Scott, CEO of Alberta Food Banks, said. Global News reporters Ashleigh Stewart and Brian Hill have more.  … so are gas prices It wasn’t just consumers of milk grappling with rising costs this week. Many Canadian drivers are facing shock at the pump as gas prices hit new records. GasBuddy.com, a website that tracks gas prices, says the national average retail gas hit 151.3 cents per litre Friday morning. That marks the highest average price on record, according to the website, which has data as far back as 2008. So what’s behind the soaring prices? The biggest factor is rising crude oil prices, which hit an eight-year high Friday. Drivers in Newfoundland and Labrador are facing the highest gas prices, while the lowest prices can be found in Saskatchewan. ________________________ – THE QUESTION – “I’ve had a credit card since 2003 that I no longer use as I have since switched to another card that has decent cashback. I have tried to close the old credit card account but their customer service advised me not to do so because a) it may impact my credit score if I close a credit card and b) my available credit will go down, which may negatively impact my credit score. Are these statements true? What are the common truths and myths of what really impacts credit scores?” — A Money123 reader “While it might seem odd that something as simple as cancelling a credit card no longer in use could affect your credit score, it is true. It's important to understand that credit agencies are constantly assessing our risk profiles, and thus our access to credit and even the interest rates that might be charged by lenders who use their services. Your payment patterns, utilization rates (how much of your total credit lines are being used), number of cards, and credit history are among the many factors used to 'score' your file. If you cancel your oldest credit card, this could reduce the amount of 'history on file,' which in turn could affect your credit score. Likewise, if you closed a credit line this could negatively affect your utilization rate since you have just reduced the amount of credit available to you, which could increase the perceived risk of default going forward. Generally speaking, closing one credit card shouldn't have a significant impact on your credit file, but it's important to keep in mind how credit scores are determined." -Trevor Van Nest, CFP, owner and money coach, Niagara Region Money Coaches
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