The Canadian Statistics Agency says that the Canadian economy recorded modest gains of 21,000 jobs in September. In the latest labor force survey from the federal agency, released on Friday, the unemployment rate for September fell to 5.2 percent as fewer people looked for work, down from 5.4 percent the previous month. Employment gains were also expected as the job losses in the education sector over the summer were reversed with the reopening of schools. The report said that gains made in education, healthcare, and social assistance offset losses in several other sectors, including manufacturing, information, culture, and entertainment. Also, the rate of people wanting and looking for a job decreased slightly by 0.1 percent in September. The rise in employment comes after three consecutive months of job losses in the Canadian economy. As the Bank of Canada raised interest rates sharply to tame high inflation, the Canadian economy is expected to feel the effects of higher interest rates on both economic growth and employment figures. The central bank pointed out that tight labor markets are partly responsible for rising inflation.

In the same context, wages grew by 5.2 percent in September compared to the previous year, with an average hourly wage of 31.67 dollars. The report also considered retirement among Canadians under the age of 65, one of the main factors in the clear labor shortage, as nearly one million Canadians aged 55 to 64 said they retired in September. Over the past twenty years, the labor force participation rate has steadily declined, largely due to an aging population; the federal agency says that since September 2019, the number of Canadians aged 65 and over has increased by 11.6 percent, while the working-age population grew by 3.5 percent. With children returning to school in September, the report also examined the impact of childcare responsibilities on career decisions. Despite the rise in the standard employment rate, women aged 25 to 54 with children under 16 were more likely to decide not to apply for a job or promotion during the past year compared to their male counterparts.