Canada’s unemployment rate holds steady at 6.5% in October

Canada's labour market added roughly 15,000 jobs in October, enough to keep the unemployment rate steady at 6.5 per cent in the month.

The national unemployment rate held firm in October amid modest job gains, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Canada’s jobless rate was 6.5 per cent last month, the agency said, as employers added some 15,000 positions to their payrolls.

That follows a gain of 47,000 jobs in September.

Gains in the business, building and other support services sectors were offset by losses in finance, insurance and real estate in October.

The Bank of Canada has increasingly looked to shore up weakness in the Canadian jobs market, delivering a series of interest rate cuts since June.