A surprising 67,200 jobs were added to the country’s economy in September in the biggest monthly gain since 2012, leading some analysts to suggest the central bank won’t be cutting interest rates to spur growth any time soon.

The number of jobs added last month breezed past economists’ expectations for 10,000 net new jobs, Statistics Canada reported Friday

Despite the second consecutive month of gains, Canada’s unemployment rate was unchanged at seven per cent as more people looked for work. The labour force participation rate ticked two-tenths of a per cent higher to a four-month high of 65.7 per cent.

“Overall, the data are obviously an upside surprise, and add to the picture of strength in the economy in the third-quarter that completes the recovery from a fire-distorted second-quarter,” said CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld, noting the toll the Alberta wildfires took on second-quarter economic growth.

“The tie-breaker will be the fourth quarter, with these job figures helping create some momentum for that trimester.”

However, a glance behind that headline number suggests the gains are in precarious categories such as low-paid part-time jobs and self-employment, which can include unpaid work.

About 44,100 of the new jobs were considered part-time and another 50,100 were self-employed. Meanwhile, there was little change in the number of private and public sector employees, StatsCan said.

“The labour market isn’t as strong as that headline – 67,000 – would suggest and the details weren’t as strong either,” said BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic.

“But I wouldn’t totally write it off. This is the second month of pretty good results on the employment front. If anything, if you smooth it all out, it does suggest we’re in that stable but pretty sluggish holding period for growth in the economy and in the labour market overall.”

In August, the economy added a surprising 26,200 jobs.

September’s big gain helped the third quarter turn in the best jobs performance of any quarter this year. On a year-over-year basis, employment rose by 0.8 per cent, or 139,000 jobs.

The service sector added 55,500 new jobs as public administration jobs increased for the second consecutive month with 19,000 added in September. The goods-producing industries gained 11,600 jobs with construction and manufacturing work providing the biggest boosts.

By demographic, employment among people aged 55 and older saw a record monthly increase of 61,000, while there was little change among the younger generations.

Boomers are staying in the workforce as people live longer, debt loads inch higher and some close to retirement struggle to recover pension savings lost during the recession.

Quebec, Alberta and New Brunswick saw job gains but there was little change in other provinces. Ontario saw an addition of 16,000 net new jobs and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.6 per cent.

Still, compared to a year ago, Ontarians have seen an increase of 1.2 per cent or 82,000 jobs added since last September, while the unemployment rate has fallen by 0.3 percentage points.

At Queen's Park, Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid hailed the 400 new "high end" technology jobs announced Thursday that will be coming to Thomson Reuters in Toronto in the next two years as ‎proof Ontario is an attractive jurisdiction for business.

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“‎It's another in a series of innovative companies investing in Ontario . . . it shows a lot of momentum,” he said.

With the improved StatsCan jobs numbers from September, Duguid said, “the trend continues to be good,” with the provincial unemployment rate down to 6.6 per cent, below the national average.

Economists suggested the positive jobs report could relieve some pressure from the Bank of Canada to lower interest rates as other economic indicators remain soft. Meanwhile, Monday’s announcement of a federal crackdown on the mortgage market alleviates pressure for them to raise rates anytime soon.

“With two decent jobs reports in a row now it does temper expectations that they’re going to cut rates in the near term,” Kavcic said.

“Add it all up and I think the outlook is still very much the Bank of Canada on the sidelines for a long time.”

The central bank released its latest business outlook survey Friday suggesting businesses are expecting U.S. growth to be slower overall — partially due to uncertainty over the election happening in November.

Still, the survey found close to half of the roughly 100 companies polled said they intended to add jobs over the coming year.

In a speech Thursday, Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins noted that Canada’s unemployment rate belies excess capacity in the labour market, which is rearing its head in the form of slow wage growth and a high number of discouraged workers.

That was the last speech by a central bank representative before the Bank of Canada makes its next interest rate announcement Oct.19.

-With a file from Rob Ferguson