Canada's Economy Added 54,000 Jobs in November, Unemployment Rate Falls to 6.5%

Canada's labour market strengthened for the third consecutive month in November, adding 54,000 or 0.3% jobs after a slow growth earlier this year. The employment rate edged up 0.1 percentage point to 60.9%, while the unemployment rate fell 0.4 pp to 6.5%, with 1.5 million people unemployed. Youth aged 15 to 24 led the gains with 50,000 new jobs, raising their employment rate to 55.3%, while part-time work rose by 63,000. Employment growth was majorly seen in health care and social assistance (+46,000), accommodation and food services (+14,000) and natural resources (+11,000), while wholesale and retail trade fell by 34,000. Alberta recorded the highest provincial gain with 29,000 jobs, followed by New Brunswick (+5,500), and Manitoba (+4,500). Average hourly wages increased 3.6% year-over-year to $37.00.