Canadian Employment Rises by 60,000 in September; Unemployment Holds at 7.1%

On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that Canadian employment rose by 60,000 jobs, or 0.3%, in September, partially offsetting a cumulative decline of 106,000 positions (0.5%) over the previous two months. From January to September, employment has shown little net growth, up 22,000 jobs (0.1%).

Public sector employment rose 0.7% (+31,000), private sector employees increased 0.2% (+22,000), and self-employed workers edged up 0.3% (+7,900).

The unemployment rate held steady at 7.1% in September, following a 0.2 percentage point increase in August. Since the start of 2025, the unemployment rate has risen by 0.5 percentage points.