Greater Sudbury added jobs in September, dropping the unemployment rate to six per cent, Statistics Canada reported Friday, a drop of 0.4 per cent compared to August.
In its monthly labour survey, StatsCan reported 81,700 people had jobs last month, an increase of 800 in a month. The rate dipped despite an increase in the labour force – the number of people looking for work – of 400, bringing the total to 87,000.
When factoring in StatsCan's margin of error, Greater Sudbury's jobless rate could be as low as 5.2 per cent, or as high as 6.8 per cent.
Provincially, Ontario's jobless rate held steady at 5.7 per cent, while nationwide, Canada's unemployment rate edged back down to its four-decade low of 5.8 per cent. But even in a job market that's having a hard time finding workers, wage growth is continuing to slow.
The country added 11,200 net new jobs in October, including a gain of 33,900 full-time positions. StatsCan said the jobless rate moved down from its 5.9 per cent reading in September, in large part because fewer people searched for work.
One fresh data point, in particular, is likely to catch the Bank of Canada's attention: wage growth.
The indicator is watched by the central bank ahead of its interest-rate decisions and, despite the tightened labour market, pay growth slowed for its fifth-straight month. Solid wage growth can apply upward pressure on inflation, which can then feed into the Bank of Canada's decisions on interest rates.
Year-over-year, average hourly wage growth slowed last month to 2.19 per cent for its weakest reading since September 2017. Experts have predicted wage growth to rise along with the tightened labour market, but average hourly wage growth has dropped every month since May when it was 3.94 per cent.
Statistics Canada's labour report Friday also showed that compared with 12 months earlier, national employment was up 1.1 per cent following the addition of 205,900 positions, including 173,000 full-time jobs.
For employee work, the public sector lost 30,800 jobs last month, while the private sector added 20,300 positions. Of the new jobs, 21,800 came in the less desirable category of self employment, which is a classification that includes people working in a family business without pay.
By region, Saskatchewan added 2,500 jobs in October, but employment levels were largely unchanged in the other provinces.
Looking at industries, the goods-producing sector lost 12,000 jobs last month in a decline led by a notable loss of 7,100 positions in natural resources work. The services sector added 23,200 jobs in October following a gain of 22,000 positions in business, building and other support services.
Last month, survey results released by the Bank of Canada said companies, on balance, have reported that labour shortages have intensified over the past 12 months.
– Files from Canadian Press
