© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A sign advertising available jobs at the Clocktower Brew Pub hangs in a window in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, November 9, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo
OTTAWA (Reuters) -The Canadian economy gained a net 150,000 jobs in January, smashing expectations, while the jobless rate held steady at 5.0%, Statistics Canada (Statscan) data showed on Friday.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast a net gain of 15,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to edge up to 5.1% in January from 5.0% in December.
Statscan revised December’s net gains downward to 69,200 jobs.
January’s job additions, the fifth consecutive monthly gain, were driven primarily by the core-aged group of 25 to 54 year-olds and were spread across several industries, Statscan said.
Employment in the goods sector increased by a net 25,400 jobs led by construction.
Service sector jobs jumped by a net 124,700, mostly in wholesale and retail trade and the healthcare and social assistance subsectors.
