The Canadian labor market continued to outperform the rest of the economy, creating +53.7k jobs in September vs. expectations of only +7.5k. Gains were mostly widespread across industries, with major gains in health care and social assistance which added +30k jobs, the most in over 13 years, while accommodation and food services gained +23.3k jobs, the most in over six years. Jobs rose in seven of ten provinces. Year-to-date the economy has created a very strong +358k jobs, the most since 2002. The unemployment rate fell from 5.7% to 5.5%, just off the record low of 5.4% set in May, but part of the decline was due to a -0.1% drop in the labor force participation rate to 65.7%. Hourly wages for full time workers rose +0.4% to a strong y/y rate of +4.3% compared to the post-recession average of +2.3%. One disappointment was a -0.3% decline in the number of hours worked, a key input into monthly GDP.
