Canada gains a surprise 67,000 jobs in October, beating economists' expectations

Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 07, 2025 8:29 AM EST | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

The Canadian system added a astonishing 67,000 jobs successful October and the unemployment complaint ticked down to 6.9 per cent, Statistics Canada said connected Friday, beating economists' expectations for the month.

While the bulk of the jobs gained successful October were part-time positions, "that doesn't bash overmuch to detract" from the beardown header number, wrote CIBC elder economist Andrew Grantham.

Both full-time and part-time enactment were up connected a yearly basis. By sector, the influx of enactment was driven by wholesale and retail commercialized — which added 41,000 jobs — arsenic good arsenic proscription and warehousing, information, civilization and recreation, and utilities.

The operation assemblage shed 15,000 jobs. The information bureau noted that enactment successful goods-producing industries (such arsenic operation and manufacturing) declined betwixt January and October, portion services-producing industries gained 142,000 jobs during that aforesaid period.

Private assemblage jobs roseate by 73,000 successful October, portion the fig of nationalist employees stayed flat.

Jobless complaint tumbles, but it's 'still not good'

Nearly 1 successful 5 radical who were unemployed successful September recovered enactment successful October, and the unemployment rate's wide driblet from 7.1 per cent to 6.9 per cent "is 1 of the largest declines successful the fig of unemployed [on] record, speech from the pandemic," wrote Douglas Porter, main economist astatine BMO.

The younker unemployment rate, meanwhile, fell for the archetypal clip since February arsenic young radical aged 15 to 24 gained jobs, Statistics Canada said. That jobless complaint has been connected an upward inclination for the amended portion of the past 2 and a fractional years.

But the unemployment complaint is inactive acold much elevated than economists would like. "Sure, it's amended than the 7.1 per cent we thought. But it's inactive not good," said Andrew Hencic, a elder economist with TD Bank. He cautioned that the system is inactive "meandering."

"A batch of the employment gains were centered successful a tiny fig of industries, truthful the breadth of hiring isn't truly there, which is accordant with an elevated unemployment rate," helium said.

The still-high jobless complaint is "indicative of a labour marketplace that's inactive trying to get its feet nether it, truthful to speak," Hencic explained. He says helium expects the complaint to autumn gradually implicit the adjacent twelvemonth arsenic economical maturation turns a corner.

No complaint chopped expected adjacent month, accidental economists

A fewer one-offs weighed connected the October data, including a teachers' onslaught and lockout successful Alberta that forced a nonaccomplishment successful enactment hours. Plus, "there were a batch of signs" that the Toronto Blue Jays' World Series tally made its people connected the numbers, according to Porter.

He pointed to a boost successful Ontario jobs, arsenic good arsenic gains successful information, civilization and recreation, and nutrient and accommodation — "the precise sectors 1 would expect to get a bounce from each the enactment astir the playoffs."

Average hourly wages accrued 3.5 per cent, oregon $1.27, to $37.06 per hr successful October compared with the aforesaid play past year.

"Overall, today's information is supportive of the Bank of Canada's reasoning that involvement rates are present debased capable to stimulate the economy, and we proceed to forecast nary much complaint cuts from here," Grantham wrote successful his enactment to clients.

Porter wrote that with the jobless complaint "dipping backmost beneath 7 [per cent] and wages staying firm, it appears that the [Bank of Canada] volition so intermission successful December."

And Hencic concurred: "We don't deliberation that this is truly moving the needle for the Bank of Canada successful the adjacent term. "