Canada jobless rate falls to pandemic low

MONTREAL - Canada's jobless rate posted its fifth straight monthly decline in October, dropping to 6.7 percent, its lowest level since the start of the pandemic, the government reported Friday.

Statistics Canada said employment remained steady last month as the economy added 31,000 jobs.

Employment increases in industries including retail trade were offset by declines in accommodation and food services, the agency said.

October's jobless rate is one percentage point above that of February 2020, before the start of the pandemic.

"The effect of population aging continues to shape the overall labor force participation rate" as among people 65 and older it is substantially lower than among younger people, the agency said.

Among those 25 to 54, the labor force participation rate was 88.2 percent, the highest level since 1976.

"The future supply of workers, and the possibility of shortages impeding economic growth and innovation, is one of the most central questions facing the Canadian labor market," Statistics Canada said.  -- Agence France-Presse