Advertisement

Canada’s labour market beats expectations, adding 62K jobs in November

Click to play video: 'Seasonal job options'
Seasonal job options
With non-essential retail stores closed in parts of Canada because of coronavirus restrictions, those hoping for seasonal work might be out of luck. But experts say there are other options. Joe Scarpelli reports. – Dec 3, 2020

Statistics Canada says the economy added 62,000 jobs in November compared with an addition of 84,000 in October, as the labour market recovery from the impacts of the novel coronavirus pandemic slowed down. The unemployment rate fell to 8.5 per cent compared with 8.9 per cent in October.

READ MORE: Fiscal update would boost child benefit and wage subsidy, calls for airline refunds

Employment rose by 0.3 per cent for the month, compared with 0.5 per cent in October. That contrasts with the period between May and September, when employment grew by an average of 2.7 per cent per month.

CANADIAN UNEMPLOYMENT

The average economist estimate had been for a gain of 20,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

Story continues below advertisement

READ MORE: Canada hints at ‘major’ coronavirus recovery plan but still no brakes on spending

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.

Get weekly money news

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

The gains in November left the country 574,000 jobs short of recouping the approximately three million jobs lost from lockdowns in March and April that sent the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 13.7 per cent in May.

The unemployment rate would have been 10.9 per cent in November, StatCan said, had it included in calculations Canadians who wanted to work last month but didn’t search for a job.

Sponsored content

AdChoices