Canada's economy dropped 18,000 jobs in April as unemployment rose to 6-month high

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. From the source:

Labour Force Survey, April 2026

Released: 2026-05-08

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260508/dq260508a-eng.pdf

Highlights

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.

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%).

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).

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Next release
The next release of the LFS will be on June 5, 2026. May 2026 data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of May 10 to 16.