Canada's labour market was surprisingly strong last month, when 77,000 full-time positions were created.
As a result of the full-time work, Statistics Canada says 54,500 net new jobs were gained overall in May — far more than expected, CBC has reported.
"Canada has now generated 185,000 full-time jobs through the first five months of 2017, far exceeding the 73,500 created all of last year ... on track, actually, for the best year since the tech boom of 1999!," wrote Gluskin Sheff Economist David Rosenberg in a note to clients.
“It was an excellent May for Canadian employment, with the 55K increase trouncing more muted expectations,” wrote CIBC Economist Nick Exarhos in in a report to clients titled Memorable May for Canadian Employment. “The composition of the job growth also pointed to healthy momentum for Canadian pocket books, with gains in full-time and paid positions leading the way.”
By province, Statistics Canada says Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec saw the biggest job gains last month.
Quebec's unemployment rate dropped 0.6 percent to six percent – its lowest level since Statistics Canada started collecting the data in 1976.
A consensus of economists had expected job gains of 11,000 last month and for the unemployment rate to move up to 6.6 percent, according to Thomson Reuters.
