The Canadian dollar closed at 107.04 cents US on Friday, after going as high as 107.08 US. It was bolstered by continued high oil prices and a drop in the nation's unemployment rate to a 33-year low.

The dollar jumped to above 107 cents over yesterday's close of 105.12 cents US after Statistics Canada reported Friday a decline in unemployment rate. Friday's close breaks a previous high set in 1957.

The jobless rate fell from 5.9 in September to 5.8 per cent in October.

"These are spectacular job growth numbers," said Avery Shenfeld, a CIBC world markets economist.

"We'd like to see a bit more coming from the private sector. But it's hard to argue with a multi-decade low in the unemployment rate and lots of jobs coming that are going to pay incomes."

The soaring loonie smashed a 50-year record on Wednesday after it topped the high of 106.14 U.S. cents, which was reached a half-century ago on Aug. 21, 1957.

The loonie also benefited Friday from an increase in oil prices -- up 92 cents at US$94.41 per barrel. Oil had broken $96 per barrel earlier in the week.

Economy 'strong': PM

The strong economy had Prime Minister Stephen Harper boasting on Friday, although he sidestepped reporters' questions about Canada's soaring currency.

"The prime minister doesn't comment on the level of the dollar," Harper said following an aboriginal conference in Halifax. "Monetary policy is the responsibility of the Bank of Canada and I have confidence in the bank."

But Harper did say the dollar's rise is having an impact on the economy.

"We're certainly aware that a high dollar creates some difficulties as well as having some advantages," he said. "It depends on the sector and the circumstances."

"But the fact of the matter is that the economy is very strong compared to our international competitors."

Harper also noted that new data show the national unemployment rate fell to 5.8 per cent in October -- a new 33-year low.

"The rate of growth is strong,'' said Harper. "We have a lot of confidence in the economy but I'm not going to make any specific observations about the dollar although we are aware of the difficulties it causes in some cases."

Jobless rate

According to the latest Labour Force survey, record numbers of Canadians are holding down jobs with October's employment rate reaching an all-time high of 63.7 per cent.

From January to October, Canada's robust economy created 346,000 new jobs, representing the strongest growth for that period in five years.

"There was job loss in Canada during the last month, however, the job creation rollover was extremely strong, much stronger than we expected," BNN's Michael Kane told CTV Newsnet on Friday.

Women and older workers continue to lead the way in employment last month.

Women aged 25 and over posted a record employment rate of 59.4 per cent along with the lowest unemployment rate -- 4.3 per cent -- in more than 30 years.

Workers aged 55 and over continued to see massive gains demonstrating an all-time high participation rate of 33.9 per cent.

Employment for older workers has risen 6.9 per cent since the start of the year, driven by the participation of older women in the work force. By contrast, employment levels have risen 1.2 per cent for those aged 25 to 44 for 2007.

The service sector continued to elevate the nation's employment level with the highest gains in health care, social assistance and public administration. In October, service sector jobs increased by 66,000, representing a growth of 3.2 per cent in 2007.

However, the gains have been tempered by losses in and business, building and other support services sector.

The manufacturing sector has continued to suffer due to the record-setting gains of the Canadian dollar. Employment in the goods-producing sector has fallen 0.5 per cent since December 2006, representing a loss of 19,200 jobs for the time period.

However, gains in construction and utilities -- including electric power generation, transmission and distribution, natural gas distribution, water supply and sewage systems -- have offset those losses.

Employment in Ontario grew for a second straight month with 32,000 new jobs created last month. So far this year, employment in Ontario has increased by an estimated 1.7 per cent, just below the national average of 2.1 per cent. Employment also continued to grow in the western provinces and in Atlantic Canada.

The tight labour market is driving higher wages for employees. Workers were paid 4.1 per cent more for their hourly labour than a year ago, well above the 2.5 per cent inflation rate.

October marked the third consecutive month that the increase in hourly compensation was above four per cent on a year-over-year basis.

The Canadian Press has compiled a list of the October unemployment rates in select cities. The September figure is in brackets:

  • Newfoundland 13.5 (13.6)
  • Prince Edward Island 8.8 (10.5)
  • Nova Scotia 7.6 (8.0)
  • New Brunswick 7.6 (8.2)
  • Quebec 6.9 (6.9)
  • Ontario 6.0 (6.2)
  • Manitoba 4.0 (4.2)
  • Saskatchewan 4.3 (3.8)
  • Alberta 3.4 (3.6)
  • British Columbia 4.4 (4.3)