Following four consecutive months of minor gains, Canadian employment increased by 44,000 jobs in October. The national unemployment rate ticked lower by 0.1 points to 7.0 per cent.  For a second consecutive month,  part-time employment accounted for the majority of the month's employment gains, though full-time employment was up by 9,000 jobs. Total hours worked, which is strongly correlated with economic growth, slowed down from 1.1 per cent year-over-year growth in September to 0.7 per cent in October.
 
In BC, job creation continues to accelerate. The province added 23,300 new jobs in October, including 11,300 full-time positions.  In spite of very robust job numbers, the provincial unemployment rate remained flat at 6.3 per cent as BC's economic performance continues to attract new entrants to the labour force from both inside and outside of the province. Year-to-date, employment in BC is up just 1 per cent but has risen at a rate of 2.3 per cent over the past three months and was up 3 per cent year-over-year in October. 

“Copyright British Columbia Real Estate Association. Reprinted with permission.”