The last time unemployment was this low, the dot-com bubble was fully bloated and 'N Sync's "Bye Bye Bye" was blaring on the Discman.

Unemployment in Ontario fell to 5.5 per cent last month, its lowest level since 2000. Meanwhile, the province packed on 43,500 net new jobs in November, the largest single-month increase since February 2008.

Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid was upbeat: "These numbers do tend to fluctuate from month to month, and you don't want to take too much from any given monthly increase or decrease, but I gotta tell you, today's [numbers] give me cause to say two words: 'Yee' and 'Haw.'"

Duguid attributed the now-five-month string of job gains to investments in education, infrastructure and high-tech. "That's the investments that we've made in artificial intelligence, in 5G technology, in quantum technology, in super-computing," he said, throwing in a shout-out to "technological disruption" from autonomous vehicles.

Duguid also spoke to the expected loss of between 240 and 300 jobs — mostly in Ontario — stemming from the closing of all but six of 43 community and local newspapers swapped by Postmedia and Torstar this week.

"It's consumers that have to determine where they go for their news ... My hope is that, somewhere in those communities, somebody will step up and be able to step into that gap," he said at a press conference Friday morning.

Duguid said the government has no immediate plans to bail out the ailing industry, a prospect rejected at the federal level as well.

The ministry has projected employment will rise 1.4 per cent in 2017 with 99,000 net new jobs, led by sectors such as food services and accommodation — which some critics say reveals a rise in precarious work. More than 40 per cent of last month's job gains were in part-time work.

NAFTA negotiations — the fifth round wrapped up last week — may be stoking that sense of precariousness, with thousands of Ontario jobs potentially at risk, particularly in the automotive sector, if current U.S. demands are met. The U.S. has tabled a proposal that would require that vehicles contain 50 per cent American content and 85 per cent North American content in order to avoid duties, rather than the existing threshold of 62.5 per cent North American content with no minimum on U.S. parts.

"Yes, NAFTA is a challenge. Yes, NAFTA is a risk. There are always risks in the global economy," Duguid said. "But we are now in a position of strength. Regardless of what happens with NAFTA, we will continue to be one of the most innovative jurisdictions on the planet."

Ontario job gains skyrocket in November to 43,000-plus

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