The labour market in Canada weakened in February. Employment fell by 84,000 jobs, which is a 0.4 percent decline. The employment rate slipped 0.2 percentage points to 60.6 percent, while the national unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent as more people searched for work.
108,000 people lost full-time employment. Employment in the private sector fell by 73,000, marking the second straight monthly decrease.
Employment among people aged 15 to 24 dropped by 47,000, pushing the youth unemployment rate up 1.3 percentage points to 14.1 percent.
The unemployment rate for Black youth reached 23.2 percent, compared with 11.2 percent for non-racialized, non-Indigenous youth. Rates were 17.4 percent for Chinese youth and 13.0 percent for South Asian youth, based on three-month moving averages.
Among workers aged 25 to 54, employment declined for men but remained steady for women. Employment among core-aged men fell by 41,000 due to losses in full-time work. For workers aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate declined slightly to 4.9 percent.
Job losses mostly occurred in service and goods industries. Wholesale and retail trade lost 18,000 jobs while repair, maintenance and personal services lost 14,000 jobs.
Construction employment declined by 12,000, while manufacturing fell by 9,200 jobs. Compared with a year earlier, manufacturing employment was down 52,000 jobs.
Provincial results showed the largest decline in Quebec, where employment fell by 57,000 in February. British Columbia lost 20,000 jobs, while Saskatchewan and Manitoba also recorded smaller declines.
Employment in Ontario was little changed following a large drop the previous month, though the province’s unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent as more people looked for work.
One of the few provinces to see employment growth was Newfoundland and Labrador, where employment increased by 2,100 jobs.
Despite weaker employment numbers, wages continued to grow. Average hourly earnings were 3.9 percent higher than a year earlier, reaching $37.56 in February.