Canadian Payroll Employment Rises in April

On Thursday, Statistics Canada (StatCan) reported that payroll employment rose 0.1% in April, a change of 22,000 jobs, following little variation in March. Year-over-year, payroll employment was up 0.4%, or 78,100 jobs.

Monthly gains were led by health care and social assistance, which rose 0.3%, or 8,500 jobs; public administration, up 0.5%, or 6,700 positions; and administrative and support, waste management, and remediation services, up 0.5%, or 3,900 jobs.

Those gains were partially offset by declines in professional, scientific, and technical services, down 0.7%, or 8,800 jobs; manufacturing, down 0.2%, or 3,400 positions; and construction, down 0.2%, or 2,600 jobs.

Job vacancies held steady at 490,500 in April, marking a fourth consecutive month of little variation. Year-over-year, vacancies were down 3.4%, or 17,500 positions. There were 3.2 unemployed persons for every vacancy in April, up from 3.1 in both March and April 2025.