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The employment rate almost returned to its pre-pandemic level by the end of 2021, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported.

The Paris-based group reported that the share of the working-age population with jobs throughout the OECD rose to 68.7% in the fourth quarter of 2021, just 0.2 percentage points below the level before the pandemic started.

The employment rate rose for both men and women and across all age groups, the OECD said.

“Nonetheless, employment rates remained below pre-pandemic levels for all groups,” it also noted.

For certain countries, though, employment rates have returned to their pre-Covid levels.

For instance, Canada surpassed its pre-pandemic level in the fourth quarter, as did Lithuania and the Slovak Republic.

The OECD reported that Canada’s employment rate rose to 74.7% in the fourth quarter, and to 75.1% in the first quarter of 2022 — its highest level on record.

The group also noted that the labour force participation rate rose to 72.8% in the fourth quarter, which also approached the level recorded before the pandemic emerged.