(New throughout, adds comment from opposition leader Thomas
Mulcair)
By Leah Schnurr
OTTAWA, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Canada added jobs in September but
the unemployment rate rose to its highest level since February
2014, adding to a string of woes for Prime Minister Stephen
Harper in the final days of a neck-and-neck race to the federal
election.
The employment numbers, the last major piece of economic
data before the Oct. 19 ballot, showed job creation failed to
keep up with the growing workforce.
Harper's ruling Conservatives have campaigned on their
economic management in turbulent times, but a rise in the
unemployment rate gave opponents a chance to attack.
"We have today 300,000 more unemployed than there were when
the crisis hit in 2008. Stephen Harper has the worst job
creation record of any prime minister since the second world
war. You deserve better," Thomas Mulcair, leader of the
left-leaning New Democrats, said during a campaign stop in
Montreal.
While Harper has pointed to the creation of 1.3 million new
jobs since the depth of the financial crisis, the number of
unemployed has also climbed on his watch. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N120306
The jobs report showed Canada added 12,100 jobs in
September, surpassing economists' forecast for an increase of
10,000 jobs, but the gains were all in part-time work, while
full-time employment plunged.
The unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent, the highest since
February 2014 and defying expectations for a drop. The
participation rate held at 65.9 percent, while the size of the
labor force edged up.
"If I had to choose one indicator in this entire report to
summarize it, I would probably focus on the unemployment rate,
which has been slowly, but surely, grinding higher ...
consistent with an economy that's growing below potential," said
Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets.
Canada was in a mild recession in the first half of 2015.
Economists and policymakers expect growth resumed in the third
quarter, a view supported by recent data.
The jobs report is also the last key data release ahead of
an interest rate decision by the Bank of Canada on Oct 21.
After two interest rate cuts this year, the bank is expected
to hold its main policy rate at 0.50 percent. The jobs report
did not alter that view.
The Canadian dollar pared some gains against the greenback
immediately after the report was released, though it remained
firmer against the U.S. dollar as oil prices rose. CAD/
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Canada jobs, unemployment http://link.reuters.com/fax39t
Full-time vs. part-time http://link.reuters.com/pev29v
Temporary vs. permanent http://link.reuters.com/xuf98v
Canada economic dashboard http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/sc-canada/index.html
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