November 7, 2025
RED FM News Desk
The Canadian economy saw a significant and unexpected boost in October, adding 67,000 jobs, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Friday. This figure significantly surpassed the expectations of economists, who had largely forecasted a slight job loss of around 2,500 positions for the month. The robust gain was sufficient to drive the national unemployment rate down by two-tenths of a percentage point, settling at 6.9 per cent.
This marks the second consecutive month of surprise job growth, following an unexpected gain of 60,000 positions in September. The job creation in October was primarily driven by part-time work, with 85,000 positions added during the month.
However, the private sector also showed renewed strength, adding 73,000 jobs for its first gain since June. In terms of compensation, average hourly wages continued their upward trend, accelerating to a 3.5 per cent annual increase in October, up from 3.3 per cent the month prior.
Despite the recent strong numbers, analysts are maintaining a cautious outlook, noting that the overall labour market picture remains mixed due to previous sharp drops observed in July and August.
Desjardins economist Kari Norman suggested the recent large swings may reflect some volatility in the data. Nevertheless, analysts widely believe that this sustained resilience in the job market should be sufficient to keep the Bank of Canada from making any further changes to interest rates for the remainder of the year.
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