Canada’s labour market remained weak in April as hiring stalled and unemployment rose to 6.9%, driven by job losses in Quebec and another decline in full-time work.
In April, the employment fell by 18,000 after a sharp loss in February and little change in March. Since January, the economy has lost a net 112,000 jobs, mostly full-time positions.
The employment rate slipped to 60.5%, matching its lowest level since August 2025. More Canadians entered the labour market looking for work, pushing the unemployment rate up by 0.2 percentage points.
Youth continued to face the highest unemployment pressures. The jobless rate for people aged 15 to 24 rose to 14.3%, while student unemployment reached 16.0%.
Among core-aged workers, unemployment for men aged 25 to 54 increased to 6.1% as more people searched for jobs. Employment for this age group was largely unchanged.
Quebec recorded the biggest provincial decline, losing 43,000 jobs in April. Since January, the province has shed 91,000 positions, most of them in the Montreal area.
Montreal’s unemployment rate climbed to 7.7%, its highest level since 2016 outside the pandemic years. Quebec’s provincial unemployment rate rose to 6.2%.
Ontario added 42,000 jobs in April after two months of little movement, though the province’s unemployment rate remained high at 7.5%.
Employment also declined in Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Manitoba posted the lowest unemployment rate among provinces at 5.0%.
Full-time employment fell by 47,000 in April, while part-time work increased by 29,000. Nearly all net job losses this year have come from full-time positions.
Information, culture and recreation lost 25,000 jobs during the month, while construction shed 16,000 positions. Personal and repair services also declined.
Health care and social assistance continued to add workers, gaining 18,000 jobs in April and 119,000 over the past year.
Average hourly wages rose 4.5% from a year earlier to $37.77.
Long-term unemployment also remained above pre-pandemic levels. More than one in five unemployed Canadians had been looking for work for at least 27 weeks.