The nation’s economy churned out 69,200 jobs in January, Statistics Canada said Friday, in a report that raised hopes a long-sought labour market recovery may finally be taking hold — despite concerns about the reliability of the findings.

“Even with the conflicting signals and ambiguity there is no question that Canada’s number is very strong,” said David Watt, senior fixed income and currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto.

He noted that the loonie was the top gainer against the U.S. dollar in early trading before closing 0.26 of a cent higher at 101.17 cents (U.S.).

The greenback strengthened Friday on U.S. labour department data that showed a sharp drop in the American jobless rate to 9 per cent from 9.4 per cent in January, despite a meagre increase in payrolls. The U.S. economy created about 36,000 jobs in January, well shy of the 145,000 that had been expected as winter weather depressed hiring.

Conversely, in Canada, despite the strong payroll gains, the unemployment rate moved two-tenths of a point higher to 7.8 per cent amid a flood of workers returning to the labour force.

The strong jobs gain — split evenly between full and part time positions, spread across most of the country, and weighted toward women over 25 — far outpaced the economist consensus estimate for between 15,000 and 21,000 payroll additions in January. Canada added 22,000 jobs in December, 15,000 in November and 3,000 in September, well below pre-recession levels.

Economists say the labour force report is based on a survey that has a wide margin for error, and which can be prone to sweeping revisions.

“I’ve learned over the years not to pay too much attention to monthly numbers because they can be extremely misleading,” said Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist with CIBC. “I’m almost positive you will see a weak number coming in the next month or two just to correct the exaggeration of this month.”

In Ontario, StatsCan said employment increased for the third consecutive month, up 36,000 in January. The unemployment rate held steady at 8.1 per cent thanks to increased labour market participation.

Alberta posted an employment increase of 22,000 in January, bringing total growth over the past 12 months to 44,000.

The number of 15- to 24- year-olds employed across Canada was little changed in January and the youth unemployment rate increased by 0.6 percentage points to 14.4 per cent as more young people searched for work.

Across the country, StatsCan said business, building and other support services, public administration and agriculture saw employment gains. Manufacturing and construction were flat, while transportation and warehousing, as well as accommodation and food services, posted declines.

Economists said the January job creation result means that Canada has recouped all of the jobs lost in the recession that began in 2008, though a net loss persists in manufacturing-centric Ontario.

In another report Friday, meanwhile, Scotiabank said rising consumer confidence and a better pace of job creation will drive vehicle sales higher in Canada this year.

According to the Global Auto Report, about 1.59 million vehicles will be sold in Canada in 2011, compared to 1.56 million sold last year.

Carlos Gomes, a senior economist at Scotia Economics, wrote in the report that the cross-Canada improvement will be led by Alberta, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland.

The Toronto stock market, meanwhile, closed lower Friday, as oil and gold prices fell back on hopes for an end to the political protests in Egypt and as the American dollar gained on the U.S. unemployment report.

The S&P/TSX composite index declined 49.5 points to close at 13,791.85. It’s up 2.6 per cent so far this year.