Canada’s economy added 60,000 jobs in September, beating expectations with gains largely led by the tariff-vulnerable manufacturing sector, Statistics Canada said on Friday.
The data agency said 28,000 jobs were added to manufacturing, marking the industry’s first increase in employment since January and since the U.S. trade war forced it to contend with thousands of job losses.
“Trade-exposed industries are far from out of the woods given ongoing tariff uncertainty. But the solid month highlights how things are holding on, at least in the near term,” wrote Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed.
The increase was concentrated in Ontario and Alberta, and partly offset the 58,000 manufacturing jobs lost between January and August of this year.
The unemployment rate remained unchanged from August at 7.1 per cent, as more people entered the workforce. While part-time employment fell by 46,000, about 106,000 full-time jobs were added.
BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said the jobs report came in “well above expectations of a modest gain and largely reversing the ultra weakness in the prior month.”
However, the big picture is that employment has inched up only 0.1 per cent over the last eight months since trade uncertainty started bubbling up in late January, Porter noted.
Gains were also seen in health care and social assistance, which added 14,000 jobs, and agriculture, which added 13,000 jobs. However, these were partly offset by a drop-off in wholesale and retail trade employment, which lost 21,000 jobs on a monthly basis.
Alberta gained far more jobs than any other province, adding 43,000 after employment declines this summer. New Brunswick added 4,700 jobs and Manitoba added 3,900. The employment rate was little changed in Quebec and Ontario.
Average hourly wages went up by 3.3 per cent, or $1.17, to $36.78 compared to the same time last year.
“Canada’s economy continues to hang in there, treading water as it awaits more certainty on trade. For the Bank of Canada, the soft labour market over the summer was one of the key drivers of the September rate cut,” wrote Porter.
“That factor is no longer front and centre, so unless [inflation] slows materially, the solid jobs figures leans toward a pause at the October meeting,” he added.
The next inflation report is on Oct. 21, and the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate meeting is on Oct. 29.
