December 2010 saw the number of jobs in Canada increase by 22,000, official figures show.

According to the latest Labor Force Survey from the agency, employment rose for the second month in a row, with the proportion of people out of work unchanged at 7.6 per cent.

Full-time posts grew by 38,000 in December, marking the fourth climb within the past five months and accounting for 81 per cent of total jobs in the country.

Meanwhile, the number of people in work has risen during the year to December by 2.2 per cent, or 369,000 positions, compared with the same month of 2009.

The previous year witnessed a fall in jobs of 1.1 per cent as the employment rate started to show signs of recovery in the wake of the global economic downturn.

Sectors that saw strong rises in the number of roles available included transportation and warehousing, natural resources and manufacturing.

Statistics Canada has also revealed the year to October 2010 witnessed a 4.4 per cent expansion in average weekly earnings to $863.33 for non-farm payroll workers in the nation.

Posted by Fiona Summers