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Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.7 per cent in October as the country shed 4,700 jobs, according to figures from Statistics Canada.
The loss of a few thousand jobs last month follows big back-to-back job losses in August and September, when the Canadian economy shed more than 100,000 roles cumulatively over two months.
Private sector employment fell by 53,000 positions in October, marking the first decline in the segment since February. On the flip side, the number of public employees — which had been in decline for four months in a row — rose by 50,000.
Statistics Canada says more young workers were looking for a job in October, too. Unemployment among people aged 15 to 24 rose by 0.7 percentage points to 13.7 per cent.
Unemployment among the core aged workforce — those 25 to 54 years old — held steady.
Economists polled by Reuters ahead of the release expected a gain of 13,600 jobs for October and for the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
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