The agency says youth and women aged 25 to 54 drove employment gains last month, while full-time employment saw its largest gain since May 2022

Canada’s unemployment rate falls to 6.5%, economy adds 47,000 jobs in September

The agency says youth and women aged 25 to 54 drove employment gains last month, while full-time employment saw its largest gain since May 2022

“Basically, this report runs pretty much counter to every assumption most analysts had on the Canadian job market,” said BMO chief economist Douglas Porter in a note.

The “hearty” jobs increase confounded the narrative that Canada’s job market has been weakening, he said, with the unemployment rate declining unexpectedly and full-time employment soaring.

“Finally, the job gains were spearheaded by a 61,200 gain in private sector payrolls,” he wrote.

Looking at the broader trend though, the unemployment rate has been steadily climbing over the past year and a half, hitting 6.6 per cent in August.

Inflation that month was two per cent, the lowest level in more than three years as lower gas prices helped it hit the Bank of Canada’s inflation target.

The central bank has cut its key interest rate three times this year, and is widely expected to keep cutting as inflation has subsided and the broader trend points to a weakening in the labour market.

Despite the job gains in September, the employment rate was lower in the month, reflecting continued growth in Canada’s population.