165,000 jobs added as U.S. economy beats expected; unemployment rate slips to 4.1% in October

Conflicting employment figures

The headline gives U.S. figures of 165,000 jobs added in October and a 4.1 per cent unemployment rate. The story text instead reports that Canada lost jobs and that its unemployment rate climbed to 6.7 per cent.

The text says economists had forecast 13,600 additional jobs. It does not reconcile that expectation with the job losses it reports, or explain the difference between the Canadian account and the U.S. headline.

Canadian job losses continue

Statistics Canada said more people were looking for work in October as the Canadian unemployment rate rose. The month’s losses followed declines in August and September, which together erased more than 100,000 jobs.

Private-sector employment dropped by 53,000, its first decline since February. Public employment rose by 50,000 after falling for four straight months, while unemployment among workers aged 25 to 54 stayed unchanged.

Industry changes and policy

Wholesale and retail trade recorded the largest sector loss, down 29,000 jobs. Transportation and warehousing, along with food and accommodation, also declined; construction and education saw gains. Average hourly wages increased 2.2 per cent from a year earlier, slightly below September’s 2.3 per cent pace. The figures followed the Bank of Canada’s first interest-rate increase in more than three years, a quarter-point move that brought its policy rate to 2.5 per cent.