The jobless rate fell to 6.5 per cent in September, Statistics Canada reported. There was a rebound in hiring in sectors including information and culture; retail and wholesale; and professional, scientific and technical services industries. The gain was swamped by population growth, however. Average hourly wages were 4.6 per cent higher than a year earlier, compared with five per cent in August. (The Logic)

Talking point: Evidence of a pulse in the labour market will alleviate worries that higher interest rates and elevated levels of household debt had finally proved too much for Canada’s economy. Still, a year-over-year increase in employment of 313,000 was dwarfed by the 1.2-million surge in the size of the working-age population, dropping to 60.7 per cent. The Bank of Canada will almost certainly cut interest rates when it meets later this month, and an outsized half-point cut will still be on the table. The economy needs last month’s spark to become a flame.