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Canada Economy Unexpectedly Adds Jobs in August on Services

A worker at a solar panel assembly plant in Toronto on Aug. 4. — A worker at a solar panel assembly plant in Toronto on Aug. 4.
Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg

By

Theophilos Argitis

September 4, 2015, 12:30 PM UTCUpdated onSeptember 4, 2015, 1:36 PM UTC

Canada’s economy unexpectedly added jobs in August, mostly full-time work in services such as education and health care, in another sign of sustained momentum in a labor market that has defied the oil price shock.

Canadian employment grew by 12,000 during the month, bringing to 193,300 the number of new jobs over the past 12 months, Statistics Canada said Friday in Ottawa. The unemployment rate rose to 7 percent from 6.8 percent as more Canadians entered the labor force. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a drop of 5,000 jobs in August.