Gains push unemployment down to 8.5 per cent
Jobs were up and unemployment was down in November, according to Statistics Canada, and with many new jobs in the private sector, there are signs the economy is starting to turn around.
Employment rose by 79,000 last month, bringing the unemployment rate down to 8.5 per cent from 8.6 per cent in October.
The job gains were about five times the 15,000 new jobs predicted by many economists, who also foresaw the unemployment rate rising to 8.7 per cent.
There were 39,000 new full-time jobs in November and, after two months of declines, 40,000 new part-time jobs.
Private sector employers began hiring again in November, with 57,000 new jobs, while the public sector also added 54,000 jobs. Self-employment, which had been increasing over the past few months, declined by 32,000.
Most of the new jobs were in the service sector (73,000 jobs), which is back at its October 2008 level.
The largest job gains were in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, but employment growth was widespread across most provinces.
In Ontario, employment rose by 27,000, the largest gain in the province since September 2008, but the province's unemployment rate stayed the same at 9.3 per cent in November.
In Quebec, employment grew by 21,000 in November, pushing the unemployment rate down 0.4 percentage points to 8.1 per cent.
In Alberta, employment rose by 13,000 in November, the largest increase since October 2008.
