Toronto 
Canada’s labour market lost some ground in August, with employment falling by 42,000, or 0.2%, according to Statistics Canada’s latest Labour Force Survey.
The employment rate slipped 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%, while the unemployment rate held at 6.4%.
The decline followed four months of gains that added 181,000 jobs between April and July. Youth and core-aged workers both saw employment weaken, while Quebec and Ontario accounted for much of the provincial drop.
Manufacturing stood out with job growth, but wage gains slowed again, leaving a mixed picture of employment, participation and pay across the country this month.
- Unemployment holds steady: The unemployment rate stayed at 6.4% after falling for three straight months. About 1.5 million people were unemployed, and 24.0% had been searching for work for at least 27 weeks. The participation rate also dipped 0.1 percentage points to 65.0%, reversing July’s increase.
- Youth employment weakens: Labour market results differed by age and gender. Youth employment fell by 19,000, with their unemployment rate at 12.9%. Among workers aged 25 to 54, unemployment rose to 6.0% for men but fell to 5.0% for women. Employment for core-aged women declined by 17,000.
- Manufacturing bucks the trend: Several industries shed jobs in August. Business, building and other support services lost 20,000 positions, public administration fell by 8,800, natural resources by 7,700 and utilities by 5,600. Manufacturing moved the other way, adding 22,000 jobs, including 14,000 in Ontario.
- Quebec and Ontario lose jobs: Quebec recorded a 19,000-job decline, concentrated in Montréal, where employment fell by 21,000. Ontario employment edged down by 18,000, although it remained 116,000 higher than a year earlier. New Brunswick added 2,400 jobs, while employment changed little across the other provinces.
- Pay gains lose momentum: Wage growth continued to cool. Average hourly wages rose 2.0% from a year earlier to $37.02, following gains of 2.8% in July and 3.3% in June. The August pace was the slowest since November 2017, excluding 2021, with lower-paid employees seeing smaller percentage increases.
Across the border, U.S. payrolls rose 162,000 in August, much more than expected, while unemployment held at 4.1%. Restaurants and bars added 59,000 jobs, government education 42,000, manufacturing 16,000, while information industries lost 23,000 and health care added 13,000 jobs.
Statistics Canada – Labour Force Survey, August 2026
