OTTAWA, May 5 Reuters Canada39;s economy added far more jobs than expected in April and the jobless rate stayed near a record low for a fifth consecutive month in a show of continued labor market resilience despite signs of an economic slowdown, data showed on Friday.

The economy gained a net 41,400 jobs in April, while the jobless rate stayed at 5.0, Statistics Canada data showed.

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast that a net 20,000 jobs would be gained in April and the unemployment rate would edge up to 5.1.

It was the eighth straight monthly jobs gain and brought the net increase in the number of people employed since September to 423,900, Statscan said. The unemployment rate has remained just a notch above the record low of 4.9 since December.

The employment gains last month were entirely in parttime work, which added a net 47,600 jobs, and more than offset the 6,200 fulltime jobs lost. It was the first notable increase in parttime work since October 2022, Statscan said.

Even though today39;s increase in employment was fairly narrowly based and driven by parttime work, the labor market is clearly stronger and tighter than we would have expected given signs of deceleration in economic growth, said Andrew Grantham, a senior economist with CIBC capital markets.

A Statscan flash estimate released last week showed Canada39;s economy likely contracted in March, translating to a 2.5 annualized GDP growth in the first quarter.

The Bank of Canada BoC expects…