An unexpectedly good job report says more than 100,000 jobs were created in Canada, but a spokesperson for Canada's manufacturers expects that many jobs to disappear from that sector over the next year.
"Well, unfortunately, you're probably going to see maybe another 100,000 jobs lost over the next year alone in manufacturing. I hope we don't," Jayson Myers, president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters said Friday.
The bulge in new jobs reported Friday by Statistics Canada completely flummoxed economists, who had been expecting about 12,500 new jobs, Instead, there were 107,000 jobs.
The unemployment rate remained at 6.1 per cent because more Canadians were looking for work. Ontario's unemployment rate is 6.4 per cent while Toronto's is 6.9 per cent, same as London and slightly higher than Oshawa's 6.7 per cent.
However, 90 per cent of those new jobs were part-time.
The Canadian Labour Congress called the jobs "low quality" and "an omen of tough economic times." BMO Capital Markets economist Doug Porter noted the numbers come from a mid-September survey, which means it predates the current financial crisis.
"Still, this report drums home the point that the Canadian domestic economy carried much firmer momentum heading into the storm than many other nations," he said.
Statistics Canada said the survey had a wide margin of error, but said they are confident of the number and double-checked because it was so outsized.
On the year, Canada has added 193,800 jobs, which is slower than 2007.
Ontario gained 52,000 jobs in September.
Across Canada, factory jobs jumped by 19,700.
The good economic news didn't halt the continuing plunge in the TSX/S&P composite index, closing at 9,065.20. It is down 16.1 per cent on the week, or 1,738 points.
The Canadian dollar also dropped dramatically over the day, closing at 84.69 cents.
Adapting to change
In Mississauga, Promation Engineering is trying to cope with structural change in Ontario's economy by switching customers from the auto industry to the nuclear industry.
"There's a massive growth in the nuclear industry and we have a very strong nuclear industry in Canada, so we see our industry as an opportunity to take up a lot of those automotive jobs," said Neil Alexander of the Association of CANDU Industries.
"You have to adjust and you have to count on your employees to turn things around for you, so you have to keep them engaged," said Mark Zimny, Promation's CEO.
The company does $12 million per year in business and employs 80 people.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press