OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the country’s job market bounced back last month from August with a gain of 63,000 positions, edging the unemployment rate lower to 5.9 per cent.
The agency says September’s increase in employment was largely driven by gains in part-time work, with part-time jobs up by around 80,000.
On a year-over-year basis, Canada gained 222,000 jobs since September 2017.
The September job gains indicate volatility continues in the jobs market after August saw a decline of more than 51,000 positions, when the unemployment rate was set at 6.0 per cent.
Stats Canada says September’s gains were seen almost entirely in Ontario and British Columbia, largely in construction, with little change in the other provinces.
And the labour force survey found that all of the job gains were made by workers in the core 25-to-54 age range with virtually no change in youth employment.
The Canadian Press