Unemployment rate unchanged for September at 5.5%

OTTAWA — The Canadian economy added 64,000 in September as the country’s population continues to rapidly grow.

The federal agency released its September labour force survey this morning, which finds the unemployment rate held steady at 5.5%.

Canada’s labour market has cooled over the last year amid higher interest rates, but the unemployment rate remains below pre-pandemic levels.
The job gains last month were concentrated in part-time work, while there were more people working in educational services and transportation and warehousing. Meanwhile, jobs were shed in finance, insurance, real estate rental and leasing, construction and information and recreation. Average hourly wages continued to climb in September, rising five per cent from a year ago.

Employment increased by 26,000 (+0.9%) in British Columbia, the second consecutive monthly gain for the province. At 5.4%, the unemployment rate in September was little changed from August, while the employment rate increased to 61.9%