Canada’s unemployment rate fell two ticks in September to 5.2% on the back of net job creation of 21,000 and decrease in the number of people looking for work, according to data released this Friday by Statistics Canada (EC).

(How to immigrate to Canada as a family?).

This is the first time in four months that there has been an increase in employment in the country. In August, unemployment stood at 5.4% after the loss of 39,700 jobs that month. From June to August, the Canadian economy lost 113,000 jobs.

The release of the data coincides with the announcement by Canadian authorities that they will allow foreigners studying at universities in the country increase the number of hours they can legally work in the country.

The measure is an attempt to alleviate the labor shortage currently plaguing the Canadian economy, whose unemployment rate is at its lowest level in history.

(The 10 keys to keep in mind if you want to migrate to Canada).

EC included in its figures the fact that in September, 938,000 people between the ages of 55 and 64 declared themselves retired. The number of retirees in this age group is considered one of the factors contributing to the labor shortage in the Canadian economy.

According to EC data, 19,548,000 people were working in September, up 0.1% from the previous month. On Thursday, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem spoke about the effect on inflation of the labor shortage and the general salary increase to attract staff.

(Learn more about the opportunities Canada offers Colombians).

Macklem pointed out that the Canadian central bank does not expect the situation to change substantially in the short to medium term, so the institution will have to maintain its policy of increasing interest rates to contain high inflation.

ECE