Led by manufacturing sector, Canada gained 58,900 jobs in May: StatsCan

Buoyed by strength in the manufacturing sector, Canadian jobs growth made their biggest gains in seven months in May 2015, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

Canada added 58,900 jobs last month, StatsCan said, including 21,500 new positions in manufacturing firms, with employment in the sector rising for the second month in a row.

Gains were also seen in a variety of other industries, including an increase of 20,700 jobs in health care and social assistance and 16,800 in trade.

The StatsCan report showed significant improvement from April, when Canada lost 19,700 jobs, and raised hopes the economy was rebounding from a first-quarter contraction blamed largely on lower oil prices. Oil is a major Canadian export.

By region, the provinces of Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia added jobs, while Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba and New Brunswick lost positions. The other provinces only saw small changes.

Ontario received the biggest employment boost by adding 43,900 jobs last month, a flood of new positions that shaved 0.3 percentage points off the provincial jobless rate, which slid to 6.5 per cent.

The youth unemployment rate fell to 13.2 per cent, down from 13.6 per cent in April. The economy added 11,900 net positions last month for young workers, aged 15 to 24, compared to the month before.

Compared to May 2014, employment was up countrywide by 192,300 net jobs, including a gain of 233,000 full-time positions. StatsCan noted there have been employment gains of about 20,500 positions per month since the start of 2015.