By Canadian Press

Economy added 55,000 jobs in December, StatCan says

Jan 7, 2022 | 6:38 AM

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the economy added 55,000 jobs in December.

The agency reported the unemployment rate was 5.9 per cent for the month, compared with 6.0 per cent in November.

The agency says in its labour force survey that the increase in the number of people working came as the unemployment rate edged down to 5.9 per cent compared with 6.0 per cent in November.

It was the lowest unemployment rate since February 2020 before the pandemic when it was 5.7 per cent.

The overall increase in jobs in December was due to a gain in full-time jobs of 123,000, while part-time employment fell by 68,000 for the month.

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The report was based on survey results done during the week of Dec. 5 to 11, before the public restrictions put in place to slow the latest surge in COVID-19 cases.

The highly transmissible Omicron variant has fuelled a massive spike in COVID-19 cases and prompted a return to restrictions in many parts of the country that have forced many businesses to temporarily close or curtail operations.

Meanwhile, Alberta’s unemployment rate saw a slight drop from the month before, down to 7.3 per cent from 7.6. However, Alberta still has one of the highest provincial unemployment rates in the country, with only the provinces in the Maritimes seeing higher rates.