Canada's economy created a surprising 95,000 jobs in May, the biggest monthly gain in 11 years, and most were full-time positions and in the private sector, Statistics Canada said on Friday in a report showing the economy may be gaining momentum.
The stellar performance handily beat market expectations for a 15,000 gain and came after just 12,500 jobs were generated in April. The May data brings the average monthly employment growth to 19,000 over the past six months, considered a more accurate reading because of the volatility of the labour force survey data. The jobs gain is well above the margin of error.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 7.1 per cent in May from 7.2 per cent. The Canadian dollar jumped to its strongest level against the US dollar since mid-May immediately after the data. The currency was trading at C$1.0186 to the greenback, or 98.17 US cents, compared with C$1.0250 just before the jobs report and C$1.0260 at Thursday's North American close.
The stellar performance handily beat market expectations for a 15,000 gain and came after just 12,500 jobs were generated in April. The May data brings the average monthly employment growth to 19,000 over the past six months, considered a more accurate reading because of the volatility of the labour force survey data. The jobs gain is well above the margin of error.
The unemployment rate ticked down to 7.1 per cent in May from 7.2 per cent. The Canadian dollar jumped to its strongest level against the US dollar since mid-May immediately after the data. The currency was trading at C$1.0186 to the greenback, or 98.17 US cents, compared with C$1.0250 just before the jobs report and C$1.0260 at Thursday's North American close.