Economy sheds 10,700 jobs in November, unemployment rate rises to 6.6%

A new study from the Human Resources Department suggests Ottawa is looking at ways to get people receiving employment insurance to move to other regions with more jobs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

The Canadian economy shed 10,700 net jobs last month and nudged the unemployment rate up slightly to 6.6 per cent, the latest labour-market survey said Friday.

However, the overall employment change recorded by Statistics Canada for November was so narrow it fell within the studys margin of error, making it statistically insignificant.

The monthly data for November followed healthy back-to-back employment increases of 43,100 jobs in October and 74,100 in September. The October rise had dropped the unemployment rate to 6.5 per cent, its lowest level since November 2008.

Looking back over the last 12 months, the federal agency found there were 146,000 net new jobs across the country.

The November jobs report saw the Canadian economy giving back some of the past months gains, Brian DePratto of TD Economics wrote Friday in a note to clients.

It should be cautioned though, that one month doesnt make a trend.

He pointed out that Canada saw significant gains in full-time employment in recent months, rising by 101,500 jobs between August and November.

DePratto said TD expects to see continued modest trend employment growth down the road, thanks to expectations the Canadian dollar will stay relatively low and help from the improving U.S. economy.

On Friday, fresh data showed strong employment growth in the U.S. economy, which added 321,000 jobs last month.

See original here:
Economy sheds 10,700 jobs in November, unemployment rate rises to 6.6%