Canadian Employment Rises by 67,000 in October; Unemployment at 6.9%
Labour Force Survey, October 2025
On Friday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that Canadian employment rose by 67,000 jobs, or 0.3%, in October, marking the second consecutive monthly increase after September’s gain. Combined, September and October added 127,000 jobs, offsetting the cumulative declines of 106,000 observed in July and August.
The employment rate was unchanged year-over-year but remained below the 2025 high of 61.1% recorded in January and February.
Private sector employment rose by 73,000, or 0.5%, in October—the first increase since June. The number of public sector employees and self-employed workers was little changed.
Unemployment
The unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 6.9% in October, down from 7.1% in August and September (the highest level since May 2016, excluding 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic).
Long-term unemployment, representing those searching for work for 27 weeks or more, stood at 21.3%, little changed from 21.2% a year earlier.
FEA compiles the Wood Markets News from various 3rd party sources to provide readers with the latest news impacting forest product markets. Opinions or views expressed in these articles do not necessarily represent those of FEA.