Canada's unemployment rate falls below pre-COVID-19 level for first time

A woman walks past a job board on a street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 11, 2022. Canada's unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in February 2022, lower than 5.7 percent in February 2020 and similar to the record low of 5.4 percent observed in May 2019, Statistics Canada said Friday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

OTTAWA, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Canada's unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in February 2022, lower than 5.7 percent in February 2020 and similar to the record low of 5.4 percent observed in May 2019, Statistics Canada said Friday.

The unemployment rate fell in all major demographic groups in February. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, men and women in all major age groups had an unemployment rate at, or below, what it was before the pandemic in February 2020, according to Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada said employment climbed 337,000, or 1.8 percent, in February, more than offsetting losses that coincided with stricter public health measures in January.

February employment growth was driven by strong gains in the number of private sector employees, which rebounded after dropping in January, Statistics Canada explained.

"Even though the central bank gets to see another jobs report before its next meeting, there is more than enough justification from today's data for another hike in April," CIBC economist Andrew Grantham commented in a report. He expected a series of four straight interest rate hikes (including the one already delivered) before a pause as the central bank assesses the impact of those on the economy.

The Bank of Canada raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.5 percent on March 2. 

A man walks past a job board outside a store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 11, 2022. Canada's unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in February 2022, lower than 5.7 percent in February 2020 and similar to the record low of 5.4 percent observed in May 2019, Statistics Canada said Friday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

A job board is seen on a street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 11, 2022. Canada's unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in February 2022, lower than 5.7 percent in February 2020 and similar to the record low of 5.4 percent observed in May 2019, Statistics Canada said Friday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

A man walks past a job board on a street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 11, 2022. Canada's unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in February 2022, lower than 5.7 percent in February 2020 and similar to the record low of 5.4 percent observed in May 2019, Statistics Canada said Friday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)

A job board is seen on a street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on March 11, 2022. Canada's unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in February 2022, lower than 5.7 percent in February 2020 and similar to the record low of 5.4 percent observed in May 2019, Statistics Canada said Friday. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua)