2012.06.08 15:50:17 Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 09:50 EST / 1350 GMT

OTTAWA--Canadian job creation in May was the slowest in three months but still beat forecasts following the best back-to-back gain in 31 years, led by the largest increase in the manufacturing sector since December 2010. All the hiring in May was concentrated in the public sector, with employers hiring more part-timers than full-time workers. The ranks of the self-employed swelled. The unemployment rate held steady and wage inflation grew at the fastest pace since October 2009. Overall, the economy added 7,700 net new jobs in May following a whopping 140,500 increase over the prior two months, Statistics Canada said Friday. This marked the best three-month gain since the three months to June 2010. The consensus call was for 5,000 net new jobs to be created, according to a report from Royal Bank of Canada. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.3%, as expected. The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker after the report, with the U.S. dollar rising to C$1.0341 from C$1.0336 just before the release and C$1.0279 at Thursday's official close. Employers filled 1,400 full-time positions and hired 6,300 part-timers. The public sector added 6,900 jobs while the the number of private-sector jobs declined by 22,500. The number of self-employed increased by 23,300. Wage inflation was hotter, with average hourly wages speeding up to 3.0% from 2.3%. the rate for permanent workers also accelerated to 2.9% from 2.4%. Both measures grew at the fastest pace since October 2009. Manufacturing jobs increased by 36,400. Employment in educational services rose by 25,700, the most since last September. Retail and wholesale trade jobs increased 23,600, the most in a year. Employment in information, culture and recreation fell by 27,300. Construction jobs declined by 27,000, the largest drop since last August. Overall, the goods-producing sector added 11,100 net new jobs while the services-producing sector lost 3,400. The labor force increased by 15,700 and the participation rate, which is the share of the population in the labor force, was steady at 66.8%. Write to Nirmala Menon at nirmala.menon@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 08, 2012 09:55 ET (13:55 GMT)