OTTAWA -- The economy gained 44,000 jobs last month, fuelled entirely by part-time employment which offset a loss in full-time positions, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The result is further evidence that Canada is struggling to create "quality, high-paying jobs," said David Madani, senior Canada economist at Capital Economics.

"Even though headline employment is rising, overall income growth still appears to be slowing sharply," Madani wrote in a note to clients.

The overall increase in employment was driven by 67,000 additional part-time positions for the month, while the number of full-time jobs fell by 23,000.

The unemployment rate held steady at 7.0 per cent as more people entered the labour market, looking for work.

Economists had expected a loss of 10,000 jobs overall and the unemployment rate to remain unchanged, according to Thomson Reuters.

The increase in October follows an addition of some 67,000 jobs the previous month, which saw gains in both part-time and full-time work. There were also 26,000 jobs added to economy in August.

"All things considered, the economy has recovered fairly well from oil-related misfortunes earlier this year, but the low quality of recent job gains is still troubling," Madani said.

"The bigger challenge in the coming months for policy-makers will be trying to manage a housing slowdown without triggering a painful bust."

Compared with a year ago, there were 140,000 more jobs in October, including nearly 16,000 full-time and 124,000 part-time positions.

There were 21,000 more jobs in the goods-producing sector last month, boosted by a gain of 24,000 positions in the construction industry, which offset losses elsewhere. The natural resources sector also added 10,000 jobs, its first notable increase since March 2015.

Jobs were also added in other sectors, including wholesale and retail trade.

Ontario saw a 25,000 boost in jobs, while British Columbia increased by 15,000. The number of jobs in Newfoundland and Labrador fell by 5,600.

For women 55 and older, employment increased by 93,000 or 5.6 per cent from the same period last year, the largest increase of all demographic groups.

For men in the same age group, employment increased by 35,000 or 1.7 per cent year-over-year, entirely in part-time work. Their unemployment rate increased 1.6 percentage points to 7.3 per cent. 

Statistics Canada also reported Friday that Canada's trade deficit hit a record $4.1 billion in September due to the import from South Korea of a module for the Hebron offshore oil project in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Economists had expected a deficit of $1.7 billion for September.

Imports rose 4.7 per cent to a record $47.6 billion in the month as import prices grew by 2.4 per cent and volumes increased 2.3 per cent.

Exports climbed 0.1 per cent to $43.5 billion as a 0.9 per cent increase in prices was offset by a 0.8 per cent decrease in volumes.

Here's a look at provincial unemployment rates in October (previous month in brackets):
   -- Newfoundland and Labrador 14.9 per cent (13.6)
   -- Prince Edward Island 11.7 (10.8)
   -- Nova Scotia 7.6 (8.1)
   -- New Brunswick 10.0 (9.3)
   -- Quebec 6.8 (6.9)
   -- Ontario 6.4 (6.6)
   -- Manitoba 6.4 (6.4)
   -- Saskatchewan 6.9 (6.8)
   -- Alberta 8.5 (8.5)
   -- British Columbia 6.2 (5.7)

With files from BNN