OTTAWA, ONTARIO — According to Statistics Canada, the economy added 157,000 jobs in September, returning employment to pre-pandemic levels for the first time since the outbreak. The jobless rate has dropped to 6.9% from 7.1 percent in August.

Last month, employment rebounded to February levels, while employment for very recent immigrants continues to rise.

Last month, Canada’s economy added 157,000 jobs, bringing the unemployment rate to within 1% of pre-pandemic levels.

Statistics During the week of September 12 to 18, the Labour Force Survey of Canada documented the labour market in Canada. Several provinces have implemented proof-of-vaccination restrictions for non-essential locations such as gyms and restaurants that week.

The employment rate is the percentage of the population aged 15 and up who are employed. As a result of the population increase, Canada’s employment rate in September was 60.9 percent, which was still 0.9 percent lower than the rate in February 2020.

In September, the jobless rate fell for the fourth month in a row, to 6.9%, its lowest level since the pandemic began.

For extremely recent immigrants, employment continues to grow.

The employment rate among relatively recent immigrants has been steadily increasing, reaching 71% last month.

While the overall number of applicants did not increase as a result of the epidemic, the number of relatively recent immigrants working in some industries grew. Finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing are only a few examples of professional, scientific, and technological services. Throughout the pandemic, employment in these two businesses has grown steadily.

In September 2019, the employment rate for immigrants in Canada for more than five years was at 59 percent, down about one percentage point from September 2019. The employment rate among Canadians born in the country was 61 percent, down two percentage points from the previous year.

White-collar workers are in the lead, while blue-collar workers are trailing.

For the first time, employment in the services sector exceeded that of the pre-COVID period. The increases were led by public management, information, culture and reformation, and professional, scientific and technical services.

In contrast, several businesses, such as lodging and food services, have yet to return to their February 2020 employment levels. This is largely owing to the sector’s major effect from public health laws. For the first time in five months, employment in the foodservice industry declined in September. In addition, the number of persons engaged in the retail sector has decreased.

Overall, there was little movement in the goods-producing sector, which has been the case since it shed 94,000 jobs between April and June. Manufacturing and natural resources were the outliers, with both industries adding jobs in September.