OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – Statistics Canada says the economy added a surprisingly strong 59,000 jobs last month, dropping the country’s unemployment rate by 0.2 points to 7.2 per cent, the lowest since June.
   
Economists had expected a smaller increase of about 10,000 jobs last month, following a minimal 1,800 gain in October.
   
The November jobs report gives hope that Canada’s economy will pick up in the last months of 2012 after a disappointing summer. Canada’s economic growth stalled at 0.6 per cent in the third quarter.

BC lost 4,700 jobs in October, almost off of which were part-time. Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate in the province rose a tenth of a point to 6.8 per cent.