Canadian Employment and Unemployment Data for April

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) released the results of its Labor Force Survey for April.

Employment was little changed, with just 7,400 jobs added. The employment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%, continuing a downward trend that began in 2023 as population growth outpaced job gains. However, from November 2024 to January, the rate had risen for three straight months, supported by stronger hiring and slower population growth.

Job gains in April were concentrated in public administration, which added 37,000 jobs (up 3.0%), largely due to temporary hiring related to the recent federal election. Employment also rose in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, with a combined gain of 24,000 positions (up 1.6%).

These increases were offset by job losses in manufacturing, which shed 31,000 positions (down 1.6%), and in wholesale and retail trade, where employment declined by 27,000 jobs (down 0.9%).

Unemployment

The unemployment rate rose to 6.9%, up 0.2 percentage points from March and matching its November 2024 level—the highest since January 2017, excluding the pandemic years.

The number of unemployed—those looking for work or on temporary layoff—rose by 39,000 (+2.6%) in April and was up 189,000 (+13.9%) year-over-year.

Finding work remained challenging. Of those unemployed in March, 61.0% were still unemployed in April, compared with 57.3% over the same period in 2024 (not seasonally adjusted).