Canadian Press NewsAlert: Canada adds 13,200 jobs in Oct., jobless rate stable

OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says the economy added about 13,200 jobs in October, helping keep the national unemployment rate at 6.9 per cent for the second straight month.

The job creation number was better than some economists expected , but the surprise improvements were concentrated in Quebec, while Ontario and most western provinces saw employment fall.

Statistics Canada agency says Quebec added 34,100 new employees in October, the vast majority in the accommodation and food services industry.

Overall, there were new jobs in health care and social assistance, as well as public administration, while employment in business, building and other support services declined.

In total, 47,000 people found work in the public sector in October, while construction and manufacturing continued to shed workers.

Regionally, aside from Quebec’s massive gain, Ontario dropped 14,700 jobs while most other provinces had only small changes, up or down.