Canada Loses 42,000 Jobs in August as Unemployment Holds at 6.4%
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Canada's labour market lost 42,000 jobs in August 2026, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.4%, according to the latest Labour Force Survey released by Statistics Canada on Friday, September 4.
The employment rate, representing the proportion of people aged 15 and older who are employed, fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The decline followed a cumulative gain of 181,000 jobs between April and July. Compared with August 2025, employment remained higher by 217,000, or 1%.
Young Canadians were among the hardest hit. Employment among people aged 15 to 24 fell by 19,000, or 0.7%, while employment among core-aged Canadians between 25 and 54 declined by 16,000.
The youth unemployment rate remained high at 12.9%. Among core-aged workers, unemployment rose to 6% for men while falling to 5% for women.
Quebec recorded the largest provincial employment decline, losing 19,000 jobs, while Ontario lost 18,000. New Brunswick added approximately 2,400 jobs, while employment was little changed in the other provinces.
Ontario's unemployment rate stood at 6.9%, compared with 5.6% in Quebec, 6.8% in Alberta and 6.5% in British Columbia.
Business, building and other support services lost 20,000 jobs, while employment declined by 8,800 in public administration, 7,700 in natural resources and 5,600 in utilities.
Manufacturing moved in the opposite direction, adding 22,000 jobs, an increase of 1.2% from July.
Public-sector employment declined by approximately 20,000 in August, marking a third consecutive monthly decrease. Since May, public-sector employment has fallen by 78,000.
Of Canada's approximately 1.5 million unemployed people in August, 24% had been continuously searching for work for at least 27 weeks and were considered long-term unemployed. That remained well above the pre-pandemic average of 17.1% recorded between 2017 and 2019.
Wage growth also slowed. Average hourly wages rose 2% year over year, or 71 cents, to $37.02 in August, compared with annual growth of 2.8% in July.
Statistics Canada noted that industries dependent on U.S. demand for Canadian exports continue to face an uncertain economic environment following the recent imposition of new U.S. tariffs on Canadian exports.
