The Canadian economy created 29,000 jobs in January, almost twice as many as expected, helping the unemployment rate fall to 7.0 per cent, the government's statistics agency says.
The figures were a welcome rebound from December, when the jobless rate jumped 0.3 per cent, wiping out most of the job gains of the past year.
The numbers showed that employment increased in transportation and warehousing in January, while it declined in business, building and other support services as well as public administration, Statistics Canada said.
Some 50,500 full-time jobs were created last month, though part-time employment fell, meaning that over the past 12 months, employment has increased by 0.8 per cent - 146,000 jobs.
The number of hours worked in Canada has risen 0.7 per cent in the past year, the statistics agency added.
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During the same 12-month period, however, the overall employment rate has dipped 0.3 per cent to 61.6 per cent as job gains have moved at a slower pace than population growth.
There were more men aged 25 and over working in January, according to the latest Labor survey, while employment was virtually unchanged among women and youths.
