Statistics Canada reported on Friday that the number of employed people increased by 34,500 m-o-m in January, while economists had forecast a gain of 15,000 and after a revised advance of 27,300 in the previous month (originally 35,200).

Meanwhile, Canada's unemployment fell to 5.5 percent in January from 5.6 percent in December, below economists' forecast for 5.6 percent.

According to the report, full-time employment increased by 35,700 (or +0.2 percent m-o-m) in January, while part-time jobs declined by 1,200 (flat m-o-m).

In January, the number of public sector employees increased by 21,300 (+0.5 percent m-o-m), while the number of private-sector employees rose by 5,000 (flat m-o-m). At the same time, the number of self-employed grew by 8,300 (+0.3 percent m-o-m) last month.

Sector-wise, employment increased in the goods-producing sector (+1.3 percent m-o-m) but edged down in the service-producing business (-0.1 percent m-o-m).