Canada's unemployment rate rose slightly in October, with the economy shedding 43,200 jobs in the month.

The rate was up two-10ths of a percentage point to 8.6 per cent in October from 8.4 per cent the previous month, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The jobs lost were all part-time. That means employment is now down a total of 400,000 jobs, or 2.3 per cent, since a year ago.

The latest job loss figures were a surprise to economists, who had been expecting a 10,000-job gain in October after Canada's economy added positions in August and September.

"While this is only the first indicator for Q4, it introduces some downside risk to the Bank of Canada's call for 3.3 per cent annualized real GDP growth in the quarter," BMO analyst Benjamin Reitzes said in a note.

"While employment is still higher over the past three months, the big decline in October highlights the sluggish nature of the recovery."

October's weak result would have been worse without the self-employed, the ranks of which swelled by 28,000 during the month. A surge in self-employment is often an indication of lower-paying work, CIBC chief economist Avery Shenfeld said.

"The earlier run-up may have, in part, been statistical noise, " he said.

Considering the spike in self-employment, the number of employees with jobs in October fell a massive 70,700.

Regional differences

The largest job losses came in Alberta and B.C., with losses of 15,000 and 13,000, respectively. Employment fell by 4,000 full-time jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador during the month.

An employment counsellor advises job seekers in Grande Prairie, Alta., in March. Canada's unemployment rate hit 8.6 per cent in October, Statistics Canada said. (CBC)

There were 3,400 fewer jobs in Manitoba during the month, and employment was essentially flat in Ontario and Quebec. But since the downturn began in October 2008, Ontario has shed 206,000 jobs, more than half of which have come in the manufacturing sector. Quebec has lost 62,000 in that time.

If there was good news, it was a marginal increase in full-time employment.

And average hourly wages were up 3.3 per cent in October compared with the same month in 2008.

Construction jobs also edged up, as did transportation and warehousing, while the weak manufacturing sector was mostly unchanged.