Canada: Unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% in September vs. 5.7% expected

• Unemployment rate in Canada dropped to 5.5% in September from 5.7% in August.
• The Loonie gathered strength against its rivals on the upbeat jobs report.

The data published by Statistics Canada on Friday showed that the unemployment rate in Canada fell to 5.5% in September from 5.7% in August and beat the market expectation of 5.7%. The total number of employed rose 53,700 in September to surpass analysts’ estimate of +10,000 by a wide margin.  

Further details of the report revealed that the participation rate ticked down to 65.7%.

With the initial market reaction, the  USD/CAD  pair fell sharply and was last seen trading at 1.3240, losing 0.37% on the day.

“In the third quarter, employment increased by 111,000, or 0.6%, similar to the 0.7% growth rate observed in the second quarter,” Statistics Canada noted in its publication. “On a year-over-year basis, employment grew by 456,000, or 2.4%. Over the same period, total hours worked were up 1.3%.”