Canada’s unemployment rate falls to 5.1% in November

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Canada's unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points from the previous month to 5.1% in November, according to the country’s statistical body on Friday.

The market expectation for the figure was 5.3%, while it stood at 5.2% in October.

Canada's unemployment rate jumped to 5.4% in August, marking the first increase in seven months, while it fell 0.2 percentage points to 5.2% in September.

Employment, however, showed a weak gain of only 10,000 in November.

The figure is a sharp decline from 108,000 job additions in October, but it still managed to come in above the market estimate of a 5,000 gain.

"Employment rose in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing; manufacturing; as well as in information, culture, and recreation. At the same time, it fell in several industries, including construction and wholesale and retail trade," Statistics Canada said in a statement.

"While employment increased in Quebec, it declined in five provinces, including Alberta and British Columbia," it added.

Total hours worked were little changed in November, after rising 0.7% in October.

On an annual basis, total hours worked were up 1.8% compared with November 2021, according to Statistics Canada.