The number of people in paid work in Canada is nearly back at pre-recession levels, which is more than can be said for most countries.

Canadian employment jumped by 93,200 in June, allaying fears that the country's storming economic recovery was slowing. This impressive rise was also far in excess of analysts predictions (from a Reuters poll) that only 15,000 Canadian jobs would be created in June

Statistics Canada said on Friday 9 July that the June employment figures took the total number of Canadians who have who found work since June 2009 to 403,000, almost making up for the job losses during the downturn that began in October 2008.

The unemployment rate also dropped to 7.9 per cent last month (from 8.1 per cent in May) which was the lowest rate since January 2009. However the June unemployment rate was still above the October 2008 rate of 6.2 per cent because of the large increase in the number of people joining the Canadian work force during this time.

The most significant employment increases during June were seen in: retail and wholesale trade; business, building and other support services; health care and social assistance; and other services such as automotive repair and personal care services.

However some provinces of Canada performed better in the job creation stakes than others, with the highest employment gains during the month seen in Ontario (60,000) and Quebec (30,000). Elsewhere Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick saw a reduction in employment levels, and there was little employment change in all other provinces.

The average hourly wage of permanent employees also rose 2 per cent in June year-on-year, which followed the 2.7 per cent year-on-year increase recorded in May.

For a more in-depth breakdown of Canada's employment figures visit www.statcan.gc.ca.