(Fixes first paragraph to show C$ weaker, not firmer) * C$ at C$0.9980 to US$, or $1.0020 * U.S. and Canadian jobs data eyed By Alastair Sharp TORONTO, Nov 2 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar was slightly weaker against its U.S. counterpart on Friday ahead of key employment reports from both countries. At 7:49 a.m. (1149 GMT) the Canadian dollar was trading at C$0.9980 to the greenback, or $1.0020, compared with C$0.9968, or $1.0032, at Thursday's North American close. U.S. job growth likely picked up in October, but not enough to prevent the unemployment rate from rising off a near four-year low. Canada likely added very few jobs in the month after two bumper gains. "Given the semblance of a soft patch that we've seen in Canada, for the Canadian dollar it's mainly about the Canadian number," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities. The Canadian economy shrank in August for the first time in six months, an unexpected contraction that pointed to a sharp slowdown in third-quarter growth. "If we do see somewhat softer numbers from Canada - we're expecting a pullback from that gangbuster number last month - and relatively decent numbers from the U.S. would underpin a further narrowing of short-term spreads we've seen recently," Osborne said. Canadian government bonds were outperforming U.S. Treasuries across most of the curve, with the two-year bond up 2 Canadian cents to yield 1.069 percent, and the benchmark 10-year bond rising 5 Canadian cents to yield 1.781 percent. (Editing by James Dalgleish)