Canada added 64,000 jobs in September — three times more than expected — but the unemployment rate remained unchanged as the population grew faster than the job market, Statistics Canada said Friday.
“The upward trend in employment continues to occur in the context of the highest rate of population growth since 1957,” the government statistical agency explained.
In September, the agency noted, the working population aged 15 and older increased by 82,000. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, held steady at 5.5 per cent.
CIBC analyst Royce Mendes said in a research note that the past two months, taken together — with 40,000 jobs created in August — “have clearly shown significant strength in hiring.”
But, he added, “the rapid pace of increase in the size of Canada’s working age population has meant that the labour market hasn’t tightened all that much in recent months.”
His analysis was echoed by RBC economist Nathan Janzen who said the data points to “more softening than the official unemployment rate itself implies.”
Canada’s population surpassed 40 million at the start of summer, fueled by record high immigration.
Most of the September job gains were in education and in part-time work. Employment also increased in transportation and warehousing.
Fewer people were employed in the month in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, as well as construction and information, culture and recreation.
