In its latest labour force survey, Statistics Canada said Friday that the unemployment rate for last month held steady at 5.2 percent as more Canadians looked for work.
The jobs gain comes after four months of job losses or little growth in employment.
“This jobs report checked all the boxes in terms of being a blowout report,” TD economist Rishi Sondhi said in a client note.
Employment rose across a broad range of sectors in October, led by manufacturing, construction and accommodation and food services.
For the fifth consecutive month, wages grew on an annual basis. Compared with a year ago, wages in October were up 5.6 percent.
However, with the annual inflation rate at 6.9 percent in September, many Canadians have lost purchasing power over the last year.
The report highlights that high-wage earners were more likely to experience a wage increase over the last year compared with lower-wage earners.
Among workers who have been with their employer for the last twelve months, nearly two thirds of workers earning more than $40 an hour got a raise. In comparison, half of workers making less than $20 an hour saw their wages go up.
With inflation this year reaching levels not seen in four decades, the report surveyed Canadians on their financial situations. More than one third of Canadians said they were finding it difficult or very difficult to meet their financial needs. Two years ago, just over one fifth of Canadians reported the same challenges.
Workers in accommodation and food services, retail trade and transportation and warehousing were among the most likely to report financial challenges.
Wages in accommodation and food services as well as retail trade fall below the national average and workers in these industries are more likely to be employed part-time.
