Ottawa, Oct 9 (IANS): Canada's unemployment rate continued downward trend, falling 0.2 percentage points to 6.9 per cent in September 2021, the lowest rate since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Canada's jobless rate declined for the fourth consecutive month in September, Xinhua news agency reported.

Employment returned to its February 2020 level in September, increasing by 157,000, or 0.8 per cent. The employment rate was 60.9 per cent, 0.9 percentage points lower than in February 2020.

The labor force participation rate was 65.5 per cent in September, matching the rate observed in February 2020.

The numbers of public- and private-sector employees were at or above February 2020 levels, while self-employment remained 8.4 per cent below its pre-pandemic level.

Employment in the services-producing sector surpassed its pre-Covid level in September, while employment in the goods-producing sector remained 3.2 per cent below its February 2020 level.

Total hours worked were up 1.1 per cent but were 1.5 per cent below their pre-pandemic level.

The number of people working from home was 4.1 million in September, down from 5.1 million in April 2020.