Economy adds 47,000 jobs in September, unemployment rate falls to 6.5 per cent

The economy added 47,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate declined for the first time since January to 6.5 per cent.

The economy added 47,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate declined for the first time since January to 6.5 per cent, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.

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. 

The overall job gains followed four consecutive months of little change, the agency said.

“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.