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OTTAWA — Getting a solid grip on the Canadian economy can be like a juggling act, not knowing whether the pins will remain in the air for an extended period or fall flat during any given month.

More often than not, we have witnessed both.

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On one hand, for example, job creation has been steadily going up — for 10 straight months, in fact, as of September — and that has produced the best track record since the Great Recession.

On the other hand, Canada’s manufacturing sectors continue to present major uncertainties for the overall economy. Output levels are down and the deficit with our global trading partners widened in August for a third straight month — to $3.4 billion from $3 billion, the fifth-biggest shortfall to date.

Not since 2011 have the country’s exporters strung together that many declines. Some of that drop can be attributed to this year’s extended maintenance period at manufacturing facilities, with shipments of motor vehicles falling by 0.5 per cent, for example.