The Canadian labour market exceeded many economists91裸聊视频� expectations in September, adding more than twice as many jobs as the previous month while unemployment ticked lower.

Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the economy added 47,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate declined for the first time since January to 6.5 per cent.

The overall job gains followed four consecutive months of little change, the agency said.

The report was stronger than expected, said Leslie Preston, managing director and senior economist at TD.

But she cautioned that the monthly jobs report can be volatile, and that the longer-term trend in Canada91裸聊视频檚 labour market has been downward.

91裸聊视频淚 would probably characterize this as a break in the cooling trend in the labour market,91裸聊视频� she said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecasted employers added 27,000 jobs in September and expected the unemployment rate to have ticked higher to 6.7 per cent.

The 91裸聊视频渉earty91裸聊视频� jobs increase confounded the narrative that Canada91裸聊视频檚 job market has been weakening, said BMO chief economist Douglas Porter in a note, with the unemployment rate declining unexpectedly and full-time employment soaring.

91裸聊视频淏asically, this report runs pretty much counter to every assumption most analysts had on the Canadian job market,91裸聊视频� he said.

Statistics Canada reported youth and women aged 25 to 54 drove employment gains last month, while full-time employment saw its largest gain since May 2022.

Youth employment 91裸聊视频渉as been a key area of weakness for some time now,91裸聊视频� said Preston.

The report did little, however, to change economists91裸聊视频� expectations for the Bank of Canada to keep cutting its benchmark interest rate after three cuts so far this year. The bank91裸聊视频檚 key rate now stands at 4.25 per cent.

The unemployment rate has been steadily climbing over the past year and a half, and in August, headline inflation hit the Bank of Canada91裸聊视频檚 two-per-cent target, its lowest level in more than three years.

Though there have been some market bets that the central bank will announce a larger-than-usual cut of half a percentage point later this month, Preston said TD91裸聊视频檚 forecast is unchanged at a quarter of a point.

The Bank of Canada91裸聊视频檚 next rate decision is Oct. 23.

91裸聊视频淚 think the Bank of Canada would need to see a more rapid worsening in Canada91裸聊视频檚 economic outlook to move to a (50-basis-point cut),91裸聊视频� said Preston.

Not everyone agrees. RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen wrote in a note Friday that the bank91裸聊视频檚 forecast is for a half-percentage-point cut in October, and another in December.

91裸聊视频淒etails behind the September job numbers were far more mixed than the headline employment and unemployment rate readings alone would imply,91裸聊视频� he wrote.

Despite the job gains in September, the employment rate was lower in the month, reflecting continued growth in Canada91裸聊视频檚 population.

Statistics Canada said since the employment rate saw its most recent peak at 62.4 per cent in January and February 2023, it91裸聊视频檚 been following a downward trend as population growth has outpaced employment growth.

On a year-over-year basis, employment was up 1.5 per cent in September, while the population aged 15 and older in the Labour Force Survey grew 3.6 per cent.

Porter noted that despite the positive news in Friday91裸聊视频檚 report, there were some 91裸聊视频渇lashes of softness,91裸聊视频� namely in the lower total hours worked and the lower participation rate.

Service sectors accounted for all the gains in September, he said.

The information, culture and recreation industry saw employment rise 2.6 per cent between August and September, after seven months of little change, Statistics Canada said, with the increase concentrated in Quebec.

The wholesale and retail trade industry saw its first increase since January at 0.8 per cent, while employment in professional, scientific and technical services was up 1.1 per cent.

Average hourly wages among employees rose 4.6 per cent year-over-year to $35.59, a slight slowdown from the five-per-cent increase in August.

The unemployment rate among Black and South Asian Canadians between 25 and 54 rose year-over-year in September and was significantly higher than the unemployment rate for people who were not racialized and not Indigenous.

Black Canadians in that age group saw their unemployment rate rise to 11 per cent last month while for South Asian Canadians, it was 7.3 per cent. For non-racialized, non-Indigenous people, it rose to 4.4 per cent.