Canadian economy adds 47,000 jobs in September

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

The unemployment rate has been steadily climbing over the past year and a half, hitting 6.6% in August.

Inflation that month was 2%, 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.

Statistics Canada said since the employment rate saw its most recent peak at 62.4% in January and February 2023, it’s been following a downward trend as population growth has outpaced employment growth.

On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 1.5% in September, while the population aged 15 and older in the Labour Force Survey grew 3.6%.

The information, culture and recreation industry saw employment rise 2.6% between August and September, after seven months of little change, Statistics Canada said, with the increase concentrated in Quebec.

The wholesale and retail trade industry saw its first increase since January at 0.8%, while employment in professional, scientific and technical services was up 1.1%.

Average hourly wages among employees rose 4.6% year-over-year to $35.59, a slowdown from the five-per-cent increase in August.

The unemployment rate among Black and South Asian Canadians between 25 and 54 rose year-over-year in September and was significantly higher than the unemployment rate for people who were not racialized and not Indigenous.

Black Canadians in that age group saw their unemployment rate rise to 11% last month while for South Asian Canadians it was 7.3%. For non-racialized, non-Indigenous people, it rose to 4.4%.