Canada's unemployment rate rose to 8.6 per cent last month, reducing the positive growth achieved in September.

Statistics Canada revealed that the economy lost more than 43,000 part-time jobs in October, which increased the national jobless rate by 0.2 per cent.

The majority of the job losses were witnessed in the retail, wholesale and natural resources industries, while the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario particularly suffered from the declines.

The rise in unemployment could have been greater had a small rise in full-time employment not offset the substantial decline in part-time work.

Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC World Markets, explained that October's data reflects the limited growth witnessed in the country's economy.

According to the Toronto Star, he said: "October was a reality check for a Canadian labor market that had been seeing a lot of hiring without much to show for it in terms of production."

Earlier this month, the Canadian government extended the country's employment insurance benefits to self-employed workers.