It’s been a bit of a shock to see the glowing employment numbers released by Statistics Canada today. The increase in number of jobs in the country at +31,000 is considerably above most analysts’ estimates. In fact, it is higher than the long-term monthly rate of job creation in Canada going back nearly 20 years. Furthermore, there was a 92,000-job-gain in full-time employment, which was partly offset by a 61,000 decline in part-time employment. But full-time jobs are generally valued more highly, since they are higher-paying and more stable in most instances.

The other surprise was the Canadian unemployment rate which fell significantly for the first time in about a year to 8.4%. That leaves it well below the U.S. jobless rate of 9.8%. Two categories of employment which have really taken the heat lately – manufacturing and construction – did much better in the latest reading on jobs. In September, manufacturing had a 26,000-job increase in employment and construction recorded an almost-the-same gain of 25,000 jobs.

Manufacturing has benefitted from the pick-up in auto sector demand in Canada and even more so south of the border. Construction employment has come back a little as single-family housing starts have perked up in the latest month or two. The Bank of Canada has warned, however, that the ongoing and increasing strength in value of the Canadian dollar versus the greenback poses a threat to how much recovery can be expected from producers selling into the U.S. market.

The year-over-year percentage changes in employment do not tell quite as bullish a story as the raw numbers do. The total number of jobs in Canada dipped slightly to -2.1% in September on a percentage comparison basis with the same month of last year. In August, the comparable figure had been -1.7%. In a similar fashion, the total number of service sector jobs fell back to 0.0% on a year-over-year basis in the latest month after climbing to +0.5% in the previous month.