OTTAWA –
Canada added a fewer-than-expected 14,500 jobs in October and wages of permanent employees rose, data showed on Friday, as the economy struggled to absorb the slack built up due to a rapidly increasing population amid rising wages.
The unemployment rate stayed unchanged from September but hovered around a 34-month high of 6.5 per cent, Statistics Canada said.
Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated a net addition of 25,000 jobs and the unemployment rate to edge up to 6.6 per cent.
Canada’s business investment and hiring have been muted even after four rounds of rate cuts as high interest rates and inflation have throttled demand, even as the labor force has continued to grow, fueled by record immigration.
This has increased the number of people in the labor force seeking jobs and not landing any, …