Employment increased by 83,000 (+0.4%) in June and the employment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 60.9%. The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 6.9%, according to a report released Friday by Statistics Canada.
Employment in wholesale and retail trade increased by 34,000 (+1.1%) in June, the second consecutive monthly gain. The increase in June was concentrated in retail trade (+38,000; +1.7%). On a year-over-year basis, employment in wholesale and retail trade was up by 84,000 (+2.9%), said the federal agency.
Overall employment in the country rose among core-aged (25 to 54 years old) men (+62,000; +0.8%) and core-aged women (+29,000; +0.4%). There was little employment change among youth and people aged 55 years and older.
“There were employment increases in wholesale and retail trade (+34,000; +1.1%), as well as in health care and social assistance (+17,000; +0.6%). Employment declined in agriculture (-6,000; -2.6%) and was little changed in other industries. Employment increased in Alberta (+30,000; +1.2%), Quebec (+23,000; +0.5%), Ontario (+21,000; +0.3%) and Manitoba (+8,500; +1.2%), while it declined in Newfoundland and Labrador (-3,500; -1.4%) and Nova Scotia (-3,400; -0.6%),” said Statistics Canada. “Total hours worked rose 0.5% in June and were up 1.6% compared with 12 months earlier. Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.2% (+$1.10 to $36.01) on a year-over-year basis in June, following growth of 3.4% in May (not seasonally adjusted).”
The employment employment rose for the first time since January. Employment growth was concentrated in part-time work (+70,000; +1.8%).
“The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 years and older who are employed—increased by 0.1 percentage points to 60.9% in June. The employment rate had previously recorded a cumulative decline of 0.3 percentage points in March and April and had held steady in May,” explained Statistics Canada.
“The number of employees increased in both the private (+47,000; +0.3%) and public (+23,000; +0.5%) sectors in June, while the number of self-employed workers was little changed.”
The unemployment rate fell for the first since January. Prior to this decline, the unemployment rate had increased for three consecutive months ending in May 2025, reaching its highest level (7.0%) since September 2016 (excluding 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic), said the federal agency.
Leslie Preston, Managing Director & Senior Economist, TD Economics, said Canada’s labour market bucked its weakening trend in June.
“The unemployment rate fell, and most sectors saw job gains. However, one month isn’t going to turn the page on what is a much cooler labour market relative to a year ago. With President Trump making new threats for a higher 35% tariff rate on Canadian goods just last night, certainty for many Canadian businesses doesn’t appear to be improving any time soon,” she said.
“The Bank of Canada gets its next kick at the can on July 30th. Today’s jobs report is another tick in the resilience tally, but next Tuesday’s June inflation report is likely to be the bigger factor in the Bank’s deliberations, given recent hotter-than-expected inflation readings. We think a strong argument for further rate cuts remains in Canada, we’ll soon see if the BoC agrees.”
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