Canada adds 44,000 jobs in October

Last month, the Canadian economy added 44,000 new jobs. However, the jobless rate remained at seven percent because more people were also looking for work.

The Statistics Canada report showed that most jobs came from Ontario and British Columbia, which added 25,000 and 15,000 new jobs. Conversely, most other provinces were largely unchanged.

Economists were surprised at the numbers; they had been calling for a decline of 15,000 jobs.

The data agency said that most of the jobs added were part time – 67,000. However, the Canadian economy lost more than 23,000 full-time jobs during the month.  

Sectors that added jobs include construction, wholesale and retail trade, "other services," educational services, natural resources and public administration sectors .

"Some of that can be attributed to the recent recovery in the oil & gas industry," Capital Economics' David Madani said in a note, "but the 23,800 jobs in construction (possibly weather-related) are unlikely to last if housing activity softens in the comings months, in response to tighter mortgage rules that took effect last month."

Business, building and other support services categories had fewer jobs.
 

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