About 1,800 jobs were shed in the month and although analysts had expected an uptick in job numbers, the unemployment rate was in line with forecasts.

On a year-over-year basis, employment has still grown by 443,000 or 2.4 percent, said Statistics Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, manufacturing and construction industries shed a combined 44,000 jobs in October, while finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing sectors added 18,000 jobs.

The number of self-employed workers decreased by 28,000, while the public sector added 29,000 jobs, continuing an upward trend that started in January.

Most of the new jobs were in westernmost British Columbia and the Atlantic island province of Newfoundland. Employment was down for men aged 25 to 54, while up for all aged 55 or older.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019