Canada adds 157,000 jobs in September, returning to pre-pandemic levels
October 9, 2021
Statistics Canada says the economy added 157,000 jobs in September, bringing employment back to pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.9 per cent, down from 7.1 per cent in August.
Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate would have been 8.9 per cent in September, down from 9.1 per cent in August, had it included in calculations Canadians who wanted to work but didn’t search for a job.
The last time Canada had this large an employment gain was in June 2021, when the economy added 231,000 jobs.
The statistics agency says the job gains were widespread, but concentrated in full-time work and evenly split between the public and private sector. Gains were also notable in industries where many workers continue to work remotely.
Still, the ranks of long-term unemployed who have been without work for six month or more remained little changed last month and was still double the number recorded in February 2020.
Leah Nord, senior director of workforce strategies with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says the fact that nearly 400,000 Canadians are long-term unemployed should put a pause on any celebrations, particularly with no data to explain why they haven’t been able to rejoin the labour force in months.
“Canadians want to work, most are not unemployed by choice, so we need to dig down and find out exactly what’s holding them back so we can make evidence-based decisions,” she says in a statement.
“Our full economic recovery depends on it.”
Source: Vancouver Island Free Daily
