Statistics Canada to say how labour market fared in September after August bump

OTTAWA –

Statistics Canada will say this morning how the country’s labour market made out in September after the economy added jobs in August.

The economy added 90,200 jobs in August to drop the unemployment rate to 7.1 per cent for the month, bringing it to the lowest level since the onset of the pandemic last year.

Economists are expecting another round of gains in September as reopenings took hold, many out-of-work Canadians began exhausting unemployment benefits, and the start of the school year allowed more parents go back to work.

Royal Bank economists Nathan Janzen and Claire Fan expect a gain of 50,000 jobs for the month, which would bring the country to about 100,000 jobs from pre-pandemic levels recorded in February 2020.

On Thursday, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said he expected to see more job gains heading forward given the number of job openings, even if companies report having a hard time finding workers.

Macklem said the process of matching unemployed workers with available jobs is still going to take some time.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 8, 2021.