B.C. loses 8,300 jobs in October compared to September
OTTAWA - Canada's unemployment rate edged up to 6.2 per cent in October from 6.1 per cent the previous month with B.C.
seeing the biggest job losses of 8,300, Statistics Canada said Friday.
he B.C. jobless rate also lurched higher, rising half a point to 5.1%, not surprising amid the steep slowdown in the province's housing market.
Across Canada, there were 9,500 jobs created during the month, compared to a gain of 107,000 positions in September, the federal agency said.
Many analysts were expecting a loss of about 10,000 jobs for the month.
"Following a large gain the month before, employment was little changed in October as an increase in full-time work was mostly offset by losses in part time," the agency said.
About 47,500 full-time jobs were added in October, while part-time positions fell by 38,100.
"The unemployment rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 6.2 per cent, driven by an increase in the number of people looking for work," it said.
"Strong employment growth in public administration in October was spurred by hiring for the federal election. At the same time, employment declined in accommodation and food services. There was little change for all other industries."
Alberta's unemployment rate remained the lowest in the country at 3.7 per cent, which added 15,000 jobs in October. "There was little employment change in the other provinces." Statistics Canada said.
Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest jobless rate at 13.7 per cent, followed by Prince Edward Island at 11.5 per cent.
The annual growth in average hourly wages for October was 4.3 per cent, down from 4.6 per cent the previous month, but above the current 3.4 per cent rate of inflation, it said.
"This report was better than expected, though it simply delays the inevitable and much of the strength came from a one-off factor which was the election," said Charmaine Buskas, economics strategist at TD Securities.
"We still expect that the Canadian labour market will be retrenching going forward in response to cooling U.S. demand for Canadian goods and slowing in domestic economic conditions. The fact that wage pressures have also started to moderate is good news for the Bank of Canada, which is clearly on an easing cycle."
The central bank cut its key lending rate by a quarter point to 2.25 per cent on Oct. 21. The next scheduled rate announcement is Dec. 9.
Douglas Porter, economist at BMO Capital Markets, said: "Landing deep in the heart of October's financial market turmoil, the stability in Canada's latest jobs survey is impressive, even if the numbers were heavily bolstered by election-related hiring.
"After all, this modest gain follows a record rise in the prior month. If there was any lingering doubt that Canada's economy is faring better than the U.S.- so far - this two-month performance should quash it."
Also Friday, the U.S. Labor Department said the country lost 240,000 jobs in October - far greater than expected - and the unemployment rate jumped to 6.5 per cent from 6.1 per cent the previous month. That's the highest rate since March 1994.
Unemployment rate by province in October:
Newfoundland and Labrador +13.7
Prince Edward Island +11.5
Nova Scotia +7.5
New Brunswick +8.8
Quebec +7.2
Ontario +6.5
Manitoba +4.3
Saskatchewan +4.0
Alberta +3.7
British Columbia +5.1
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