OTTAWA, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Weak sales in Ontario countered gains in eight other provinces and retail sales in Canada for October were virtually unchanged, Statistics Canada reported.
Sales were up slightly, 0.1 percent, to an estimated $34.5 billion, the bureau said. Since 2004, retail sales in Canada have climbed rapidly, but during the past several months sales were stagnant.
The 0.5 percent drop in sales in Ontario -- which represents roughly 35 percent of Canadian retail sales -- tempered October's retail trade performance, the bureau said. Retail sales in Canada would have risen 0.5 percent if Ontario's figures were excluded.
Statistics Canada, based in Ottawa, also reported employment grew in November by about 43,000 jobs, bringing the employment rate to 63.8 percent. While more people joined the labor force in November, the unemployment rate rose to 5.9 percent.
