Stocks are poised to rise this morning, buoyed by upbeat reports on May employment.

Canadian employment rose for the second consecutive month with a gain of 56,000 in May, Statistics Canada reported today.

The unemployment rate declined in May by 0.1 percentage points to 7.2%, the lowest rate since July 2001.

StatsCan says May’s increase in employment brings job gains since August 2003, when the recent upward trend began, to 291,000 (+1.9%).

South of the border, U.S. employers hired workers at a rapid pace for a third month in a row.

Nonfarm business payrolls grew by a net 248,000 jobs in May, raising this year’s monthly average to 238,000, the fastest pace in four years, the Labor Department reported today.

The U.S. unemployment rate, as a result, held steady at 5.6%. Economists had expected payrolls to grow by 215,000, and for unemployment to remain unchanged at 5.6%,

Asian stock markets closed higher overnight. Tokyo’s Nikkei rose 101 points, or 0.92%, to 11,128.05.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 91.71 points, or 0.80%, to 12,022.64. Brokers said bargain hunters stepped into the market following Thursday’s sharp fall.

On Thursday, an announcement that OPEC will increase its oil production and a lower price for crude oil weren’t enough to keep stock markets out of the red Thursday as technology shares pushed indexes lower.

the S&P/TSX composite index fell 45.71 points, or 0.55%, to 8,329.12.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index dropped 9.85 points to 1,593.37.

Stocks also closed lower on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 67.06 points, or 0.65%, at 10,195.91. The broader S&P 500 Index slid slightly, down 8.36 points, or 0.74%, to 1,116.63. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite Index fell 28.72 points, or 1.44%, to 1,960.26.