OTTAWA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Canada's employment declined by 68,000, or 0.3 percent, in September and the employment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 60.6 percent, Statistics Canada said Friday.
According to the national statistical agency, the employment decline was concentrated among youth aged 15 to 24 as well as women aged 25 to 54. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 percentage points to 6.5 percent.
The labor force participation rate -- the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work -- fell by 0.2 percentage points to 64.8 percent in September, the lowest level since December 1997, excluding 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, said the agency.
Year on year, the participation rate was down 0.4 percentage points in September, largely reflecting population aging, the agency added.
In September, people aged 65 and older accounted for 23.2 percent of Canada's working-age population, up from 20.5 percent in September 2019.
Population aging is expected to continue to exert downward pressure on labor supply in the coming years, said Statistics Canada. ■