Employment was little changed in April (-18,000; -0.1%) and the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.5%. The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%, as more people searched for work, reported Statistics Canada on Friday.
Employment varied little across major age groups in April. However, the unemployment rate increased among youth aged 15 to 24 (+0.5 percentage points to 14.3%) and among core-aged men aged 25 to 54 (+0.3 percentage points to 6.1%), said the federal agency.
“Fewer people were employed in Quebec (-43,000; -0.9%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-5,200; -2.1%), Saskatchewan (-4,000; -0.6%) and New Brunswick (-2,700; -0.7%). Employment increased in Ontario (+42,000; +0.5%) and was little changed in the other provinces. Average hourly wages among employees were up 4.5% (+$1.64 to $37.77) on a year-over-year basis in April, following growth of 4.7% in March (not seasonally adjusted),” it said.
Statistics Canada said April marked the second consecutive month of little variation following the monthly decline of 84,000 (-0.4%) in February. On a year-over-year basis, employment in April was up by 67,000 (+0.3%), but recorded a net decline of 112,000 (-0.5%) over the first four months of 2026.
The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 60.5% in April, matching a recent low observed in August 2025. The rate was down 0.3 percentage points on a year-over-year basis in April, added the federal agency.
“In April, full-time employment fell by 47,000 (-0.3%), while part-time employment edged up (+29,000; +0.8%). The net overall decline in employment over the first four months of 2026 was concentrated in full-time work, which fell by 111,000 (-0.6%) over the period,” explained Statistics Canada.
“There was little change in the number of private and public sector employees as well as in the number of self-employed workers in April. Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of private sector employees was up by 91,000 (+0.7%), while self-employment was down by 55,000 (-2.0%). Public sector employment was little changed over the period.”
In April, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%, as more people searched for work (+51,000; +3.4%). The unemployment rate has increased 0.4 percentage points since January 2026, but remained below the recent peak of 7.1% observed in August and September of 2025. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was virtually unchanged in April 2026, it said.
“The proportion of unemployed people who had been continuously searching for work for 27 weeks or more—considered long-term unemployment—was 22.5% in April. This proportion was little changed both in the month and compared with 12 months earlier. However, it remained significantly above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 17.1% observed from 2017 to 2019. At the same time, the monthly layoff rate (0.6%) in April remained in-line with the pre-pandemic average, showing no recent elevation (not seasonally adjusted),” said Statistics Canada.
On a month-over-month basis, employment decreases in April were concentrated in information, culture and recreation (-25,000; -2.8%), construction (-16,000; -1.0%), and in ‘other services’ (-13,000; -1.6%), an industry which includes repair and maintenance as well as personal services, noted Statistics Canada, adding that employment increased in business, building and other support services (+22,000; +3.2%), health care and social assistance (+18,000; +0.6%) and in accommodation and food services (+13,000; +1.1%)
Unemployment rate by province and territory, April 2026
“A modest drop in employment coupled with a sizeable jump in the labour force drove up the unemployment rate two ticks this month. Although the monthly data reflect a high degree of variability, the persistently elevated unemployment rate is reflective of a job market that continues to struggle to absorb labour supply. In the coming months we expect the labour force increases to lose steam and help cap further rises in the unemployment rate, said Andrew Hencic, Director & Senior Economist, TD.
“The economic outlook is far from rosy and the ongoing slack in the labour market is reflective of an economy that is still struggling to gain traction. However, with the labour market still soft, the ability of firms to pass on cost increases from the inflation shock to consumers is more limited. This is a key factor that underpins our view that if the sharp rise in oil prices begins to reverse in the coming weeks, the Bank of Canada will be able to stay on hold this year.”
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