Unemployment rate unchanged as 108,000 jobs added in October
Posted November 4, 2022 8:59 am.
Last Updated November 4, 2022 11:58 am.
The unemployment rate held steady at 5.2 per cent in October as the economy added 108,000 jobs in the month, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
The added jobs reversed much of the loses from May to September.
Statistics Canada said employment rose in the manufacturing, construction, accommodation and food services industries while falling in wholesale and retail trade, and in the natural resources sector.
It also said the number of jobs in the private-sector rose for the first time since March 2022.
The gain in jobs comes after four months of job losses or little growth in employment.
In September, the economy added 21,000 jobs in the month as the unemployment rate fell to 5.2 per cent. Prior to September, the Canadian economy had posted three consecutive months of job losses.
Wages was up 5.6 per cent in October compared with a year ago, the fifth straight month of wage growth of five per cent or higher. The average hourly wage is now at $31.97.
However, with the annual inflation rate at 6.9 per cent in September, many Canadians have lost purchasing power over the last year.
The report highlights that high-wage earners were more likely to experience a wage increase over the last year compared with lower-wage earners.
Among workers who have been with their employer for the last twelve months, nearly two thirds of workers earning more than $40 an hour got a raise. In comparison, half of workers making less than $20 an hour saw their wages go up.
