Canadian Unemployment Sticks At 7 Percent Despite 44,000 New Jobs

OTTAWA,, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 04th Nov, 2016 ) - Canada created 44,000 jobs in October, according to the country's Labor Force Survey released Friday -- more than expected but not enough to reduce the seven percent unemployment rate.

Economists had anticipated the unemployment rate would remain stable for a third consecutive month, predicting job growth of just 3,000 posts. The thousands of new jobs resulted from "more part-time work" and an overall increase in the number of people active in the labor market, the national statistical agency said.

More than half the new jobs, all part-time, went to young people aged 15 to 24. Most of the new posts were in the private sector, with a modest rise in public-sector employment.

Canadian economic growth has been slowly recovering since summer's end.

The second quarter saw the gross domestic product drop after massive wildfires raged throughout western Alberta's oil-sands region of Fort McMurray in May. Employment in the natural resources industry jumped up by 10,000 in October -- "the first notable increase since March 2015" -- mostly in Alberta.

Employment in Ontario, the most populous province, grew most significantly with 25,000 more jobs, helping unemployment there fall to 6.4 percent. Across the country, most job increases came from construction and wholesale and retail trade, with declines in business services and the hotel industry.