79,000 new jobs in December sees Canadian unemployment reach 40-year low

According to Statistics Canada, Canada added nearly 80,000 new jobs throughout December, meaning the unemployment rate has now dropped to the lowest rate on record since comparable data became available in 1976.

Although every province throughout Canada added jobs over the course of the month, the majority of these new jobs came in Quebec and Alberta, with the two both adding roughly 26,000 new positions.

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Down 0.2% as a result, the unemployment rate now sits at 5.7%, having fallen a total 1.2% through the 12 months ending December 2017.

“The additional employment in December builds on growth observed in October and November,” Statistics Canada said. “This boosted gains for the fourth quarter to 193,000 or 1.0%, the most robust rate of quarterly growth since the second quarter of 2010.”

With a total 423,000 new roles added in the previous 12 months, 2017 proved to be Canada’s best year for jobs in 15 years.