The Canadian economy beat expectations by

adding 60,000 jobs

in September, with the hard-hit manufacturing sector leading the way, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

Employment in manufacturing has been battered by

U.S. President Donald Trump

’s trade war, but posted its first increase since January, adding 28,000 jobs, mostly in Ontario and Alberta.

The growth only partially offsets the net loss of 58,000 manufacturing jobs from January to August.

Overall, full-time employment was up in September by 106,000, while part-time employment fell by 46,000. Economists had expected Canada to gain 5,000 jobs.

Jobs were up in the public sector by 33,000, while employment rose by 22,000 in the private sector and 7,900 in self-employment.

Indeed Canada senior economist Brendon Bernard said half the gains in September were driven by the public sector, but the rebound in trade-impacted sectors is welcome news.

“Trade-exposed industries are far from out of the woods given ongoing tariff uncertainty,” said Bernard, in a note. “But the solid month highlights how things are holding on, at least in the near-term. ”

Canada’s unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 per cent, while the employment rate edged up by 0.1 percentage points to 60.6 per cent. Statistics Canada said there were more people in the labour force last month, with the participation rate rising by 0.1 percentage points to 65.2 per cent.

September’s job gains only claw back some of the 106,000 jobs lost in July and August. The Canadian economy has now only gained 22,000 jobs since January, due to headwinds from the trade war.

Senior economist at Oxford Economics Michael Davenport said the jobs report was generally positive, but the labour market remains weak, with the jobless rate 0.5 percentage points higher compared to the beginning of this year.

“September’s jobs rebound is more likely a feature of monthly volatility in the Labour Force Survey than a signal that the job market has turned a corner,” said Devenport, in a note. “The underlying trend in the labour market is still weak and a large degree of slack persists.”

The

Bank of Canada

decided to cut its policy rate in September to 2.5 per cent, citing concerns over a weakening economy and labour market. Before then, the bank had held the policy rate steady at 2.75 per cent since March, as U.S. trade policy remained uncertain and core inflation remained elevated around three per cent.

Economists’ calls for the upcoming Oct. 29 policy announcement were mixed, with the Bank of Montreal and Capital Economics expecting a pause, while Davenport and the Royal Bank of Canada anticipate a cut.

RBC assistant chief economist Nathan Janzen said jobs growth in September will do little on its own to derail another cut by the central bank, but the inflation data set to be released later this month will be taken into account.

“Still, the Bank of Canada will also have to take into account the next round of inflation data – and future cuts beyond October would be less likely if government deficit spending ramps up as expected to help address tariff related economic weakness,” said Janzen, in a note.

In addition to manufacturing, employment gains were also recorded in healthcare and social assistance and the agricultural sectors, while wholesale and retail trade lost 21,000 jobs after little change in July and August. Employment also declined in construction and transportation and warehousing.

The province of Alberta recorded the biggest employment gain among the provinces, up by 43,000 in September, offsetting the job declines during the summer months. Alberta’s unemployment rate fell by 0.6 percentage points to 7.8 per cent last month, driven by job gains in construction, manufacturing, agriculture, educational services and wholesale and retail trade.

The cities with the highest unemployment rates last month continue to be in Ontario, with Windsor at 10.4 per cent, Toronto at 8.9 per cent and Oshawa at 8.8 per cent.

• Email: jgowling@postmedia.com