British Columbia and Newfoundland led Canada’s provinces in employment gains in October, Statistics Canada’s new Labour Force Survey reports.

Canada added 443,000 new jobs in the 12 months spanning October 2018 to October 2019, led by gains in full-time work, Statistics Canada said.

Overall employment dropped slightly in October, as Canada shed 1,800 net jobs, but the national unemployment rate held steady at 5.5 per cent, the survey shows.

The slight dip in net jobs in October followed large employment gains in August and September.

B.C., Newfoundland post employment gains

British Columbia led Canada’s provinces with a gain of 15,000 net jobs in October. Statistics Canada said this was driven by increases in full-time work for people aged 55 and over.

The province’s unemployment rate remained stable at 4.7 per cent — the lowest in Canada.

Newfoundland and Labrador also posted a gain of 2,700 net jobs in October, a result primarily of part-time work among those between the core working ages of 24 and 54.

Both the employment level and unemployment rate remained largely unchanged in most of Canada’s other provinces in October.

Workers over 55 make gains

Employment among men and women aged 55 and over rose in October by a total of 31,000 net jobs. The unemployment rate for this group stood at 4.7 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points.

Statistics Canada said employment for this age group rose by 187,000 net jobs between October 2018 and October 2019, or 4.6 per cent.

Employment among men aged 25 to 54 declined by 29,000 net jobs in October. However, employment in this group was up by 94,000 net jobs compared to October 2018.

Statistics Canada said there was little change in employment among women aged 24 to 54 and no change in employment for young people aged 15 to 24.

Employment increases/decreases by industry

The number of people employed in manufacturing and construction fell in October, by 23,000 and 21,000, respectively. Most manufacturing losses came in Ontario while the decline in construction was spread across five provinces led by Ontario and Quebec.

Employment in public administration was up by 20,000 in October, with gains reported in British Columbia, Quebec, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Employment in this sector grew by 73,000 over October 2018, or 7.6 per cent.

Employment was also up in October for people working in the finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing industry. Statistics Canada said the gain of 18,000 net jobs in this field was the second increase in three months. Compared to October 2018, employment was up by 64,000.

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