Published: October 15, 2019

Canada’s labour force added 54,000 jobs (or 0.3 percent) in September. Of that total, nearly 10,000 jobs were created in the construction industry.

The findings come from the latest edition of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. In it, the national agency shows that the national employment rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 5.5 percent. Employment was particularly strong in Ontario, where jobs creation rose by 41,000, mostly among full-time workers.

Ontario’s unemployment rate dropped by 0.3 percentage points to 5.3 percent. On a year-over-year basis, employment in Ontario grew by 253,000 or a gain of (3.5 percent).

Construction employment added 9,800 workers across the country, for a monthly gain of 0.7 percent. National employment levels in our industry now stand at 1.48 million, or a gain of 35,500 (or 2.5 percent) from a year before.

Ontario’s construction industry was by far the strongest gainer in September. It added 12,000 jobs (or 0.7 percent). Alberta’s construction industry lost 5,600 jobs.