JOB GAINS SET TO STALL IN OCTOBER ON COVID SECOND WAVE

A second wave of COVID-19 is threatening to reverse Canada's labour market recovery. Economists predict employment increased by 58,000 last month, according to the median of 16 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. That would represent a marked deceleration from 378,000 jobs added in September, 246,000 in August and 418,500 in July. Statistics Canada is due to release the data at 8:30 a.m. Friday in Ottawa. The October forecasts range widely, from an increase of 185,000 to a decrease of 100,000, however the theme is consistent: the recovery is grinding to a near halt as public health officials grapple with rising cases of COVID-19. Since peaking at 13.7 per cent in May, Canada's jobless rate dropped steadily each month, reaching 9 per cent in September. But that's where it remained in October, according to the Bloomberg survey.