The Canadian economy added a stronger-than-expected 53,700 net jobs in September, with all the gains coming in full-time work and largely driven by the services sector, Statistics Canada data said on Friday in one of its last major economic data releases before a national election.
The national unemployment rate fell to 5.5 per cent from the 5.7 per cent seen in August, while wages for permanent employees rose 4.3 per cent year-over-year. Analysts in a Reuters poll had forecast a gain of 10,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent.
Friday’s employment figures will likely be welcomed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, whose governing Liberals are facing a tight re-election campaign, with Canadians going to the polls on Oct. 21.
Ontario, a key political battleground in an election that has largely focused on economic issues, gained a net 41,100 jobs in September, far outpacing its other provincial and territorial counterparts.
(Reuters)
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