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Canada's jobs report is actually not as great as it looks at first

Oct 7, 2016, 19:13 IST

A flag bearer rides with the Canadian flag before the start of the 101st Calgary Stampede rodeo in Calgary, Alberta, July 5, 2013. The Stampede rodeo grounds flooded two weeks ago in the major flood to hit Calgary and there was doubt that the Stampede would take place this year.Todd Korol/Reuters

Canada's jobs report looks great at first glance, but the underlying numbers tell a different story.

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Employment surged by 67,200 in September - the biggest gain since April 2012, according to the latest report from Statistics Canada.

That number is over 3 times the highest estimate in the Bloomberg economist survey.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 7.0%, which the report attributes to an increase in labor market participation.

However, it's notable that most of the increase in jobs came from the part-time work and self-employment categories.

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Statistics Canada reports self-employment rose by 50,100 in September, while the number of "employees" increased by just 17,000. Part-time work rose by 44,100, while full-time work ticked up by 23,000.

Moreover, employment for those over 55 rose by 56,000.

"The massive 67,000 increase in employment in September will reassure the Bank of Canada that the economy is still enjoying a decent rebound following the wildfire disruption in the second quarter. Nevertheless, the details of the report were nowhere near as good as the headline gain," wrote Paul Ashworth, Chief North America Economist at Capital Economics, in a note.

"The upshot is that even though this is an unusually large increase in employment, it appears to be almost entirely low paid positions."

Still, the loonie surged after the report, and is little changed for the day around 1.3212 per dollar as of 9:13 a.m. ET.

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