By CountingPips.com
Canadian employment data released today showed that jobs rose for a second straight month in December, according to the monthly report by Statistics Canada. Today’s jobs report showed that employment rose by 22,000 workers in December following a gain of approximately 15,000 jobs in November. The jobs data slightly surpassed the market forecasts which were predicting an increase by approximately 20,000 workers for the month.
The Canadian unemployment rate remained steady at 7.6 percent, according to the report. On an annual basis through 
December 2010, Canadian employment increased by 369,000 workers or 2.2 percent after declining by 1.1 percent the year prior.
Full-time employment was the main driver for jobs in December with an increase by 38,000 hires while part-time employment fell by 16,000 workers for the month.
The goods-producing sector saw jobs gain by 40,000 workers in December as manufacturing added 65,000 jobs and employment in natural resources rose by over 7,000 workers. Construction hires fell by 27,000 for the month.
The service-providing sector shed approximately 19,000 jobs in December as the healthcare category saw a loss of 23,000 jobs while trade jobs fell by 22,000 jobs. The largest contributor to jobs in the service sector was the transportation and warehousing category which produced a gain of 44,000 jobs in December.
