Canada's economy added 55,000 jobs in December before COVID-19 cases began spiking at the end of the month.
Employment rose by 55,000 (+0.3%) in December, while the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.9%.
Most of the job gains were in Ontario.
Full-time employment rose by 123,000, while part-time employment declined by 68,000.
Ontario's unemployment rate went from 6.4% to 6.0% with 47,000 jobs added in the month of December.
In the 12 months ending in December 2021, nearly all provinces posted employment growth, led by Ontario.
In Niagara, the unemployment rate is virtually unchanged.
It rose from 7.5% to 7.6%, although the number of jobs lost was 3,400, with fewer people also looking for work.