Gains offset by drop of 57,700 part-time jobs
OTTAWA (CP) — Statistics Canada says the country lost 4,300 net jobs in December, a slight dip that left the unemployment rate unchanged at 6.6 per cent.
December was the second straight month the survey registered a small drop in employment, but the decreases follow large increases in September and October.
Economists had expected there would be 15,000 jobs added last month after a decline of about 10,000 in November but they expected the unemployment rate would be unchanged at 6.6 per cent.
The latest Canadian labour-market survey says the economy's gain of 53,500 full-time positions last month was more than offset by a drop of 57,700 part-time jobs.
The monthly data report says Canada added 185,700 net new positions in 2014, with the bulk of the increase coming in the second half of the year.
The Statistics Canada findings also show the youth unemployment rate moved up 0.3 percentage points in December to 13.3 per cent, but that 62,500 more young people had jobs compared to a year earlier.
