Region’s jobless rate down

Dec 1, 2017 | 6:17 AM

Our region’s unemployment rate has gone down again.

According to Statistics Canada, November’s rate is at 5.6 percent, compared to 5.8 in September and October.

Our region stretches from Jasper to Peace River.

Nationally, a wave of job creation last month knocked the unemployment rate down to 5.9 per cent — its lowest level in nearly a decade.

Statistics Canada says the economy churned out another 79,500 net new jobs in November and drove the jobless rate down 0.4 percentage points from 6.3 per cent the month before.

The last time the unemployment rate was 5.9 per cent was February 2008, before the global financial crisis.

Economists had expected an increase of 10,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to come in at 6.2 per cent, according to Thomson Reuters.

The increase also marked Canada’s 12th straight month of positive job creation as the country posted its best 12-month performance in 10 years.

The report says employment rose 2.1 per cent in the 12 months leading up to November as the economy added 390,000 net jobs — with all the gains driven by full-time work.

The labour market added 441,400 full-time positions year-over-year for an increase of three per cent and its strongest 12-month period of full-time job creation in 18 years.

-with files from Glory Przekop

by The Canadian Press