The Canadian Press

Non-farm payroll employment increased by 15,900, or 0.1%, in September.

Statistics Canada reports that 170 of 305 industries surveyed, or 55.7%, posted gains — the largest number of industries adding to their payrolls since July 2008.

The agency says the number of employees in Canada has declined by 448,100, or 3%, since payroll employment peaked in October 2008.

Most of the declines occurred during the first six months of the economic downturn in both the goods and service sectors.

September’s increase in payroll employees came entirely from the goods sector, particularly construction.

In the service sector, modest gains in public administration and accommodation-and-food services were more than offset by job losses within a number of other service industries.

Payroll employment rose modestly in eight provinces in September, with the largest gains in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. The number of payroll employees declined slightly in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island.

Average weekly earnings of payroll employees stood at $830.68 in September, up 1.9% from September 2008. This was the highest year-over-year increase since a 2.4% increase in January.