Figures released Friday by Statistics Canada showed the economy unexpectedly shed jobs in April on the back of a drop in part-time positions and declines in the construction and trade sectors.
The agency said the decline of 1,100 jobs was well short of economists' forecasts for an increase of 17,400. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.8%, as expected. The participation rate edged down to 65.4% from 65.5%, though the total size of the labour force increased.
Wage growth accelerated, with average hourly earnings up 3.3% from a year ago, the strongest annual rate since January.
Nationally, the weakness in job growth last month was driven by a drop of 30,000 in part-time jobs, which offset a gain of 28,800 full-time positions.
By industry, the construction sector lost 18,900 jobs, while the trade sector, which includes retail and wholesale jobs, declined by 22,100.
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