Canadian labor markets strengthen in October

The Canadian economy more jobs than expected last month, official figures revealed on Friday.The growth was mainly driven by an increase in part-time positions, which offset a fall in full-time workers. According to Statistics Canada, employment rose by 43,900 jobs in October, following the preceding month's gain of 67,200, while market analysts anticipated the economy to lose 10,000 jobs in the reported period. The data also showed the unemployment rate held steady at 7.0% last month, in line with analysts' expectations. Part-time jobs increased by 67,000 in October, whereas the more-desirable full-time employment declined by 23,000. On annual basis, the economy added 140,000 new positions last month, gaining 16,000 full-time workers and 124,000 part-time workers. The services-producing sector added around 23,000 new jobs, while the goods-producing sector created 21,000. In regional terms, Ontario gained 25,000 new positions in October, whereas British Columbia created 15,000. In the meantime, the number of jobs dropped in Labrador and Newfoundland by 5,600 in the same month. Separately, Canadian imports rose 4.7% to $47.6 billion in October, touching the highest level, while exports jumped 0.1% to $43.5 billion.