Thomas Jobless Rate Falls to 7.1%

Canada’s labour force received a boost of 44,400 net jobs last month thanks to a surge in temporary public-administration work likely generated by the federal election.

The Bank of Canada has cut interest rates twice this year to offset the shock of cheaper oil, but the surprisingly upbeat jobs figures reinforced expectations the central bank will hold its main policy rate at 0.5 percent when it next meets in December.

The government statistics agency said over 18 million people were employed in October, the greatest number ever in a country of almost 36 million people.

The unemployment rate declined by 0.1 percentage points to seven per cent.

Even after B.C. job growth remained muted for the past few months, that 3% growth rate in employment is the highest across the country.

Gains were primarily in part-time jobs, which rose by 35,400 positions compared to a 9,000 gain in full-time jobs.

The unemployment rate in Windsor edged up a tick to 9.8% in October, from 9.7% a month earlier.

The national average unemployment is listed at 7%, down from 7.1%.

Statistics Canada has released the most recent job numbers. There was little or no change in the other provinces.

Both the private and public sectors saw an increase in the number of employees in October, while the number of self-employed workers decreased.

In the United States, hiring roared back in October after two disappointing months as employers added 271,000 jobs, the most since December.