# Canada loses 42,000 jobs in August as wage growth slows to 2%

> Employment fell 0.2% in August 2026 and the unemployment rate held at 6.4%, while average hourly wages rose 2.0% from a year earlier, the slowest pace since November 2017.

- Canonical URL: https://forextradingcommunity.com/news/canada-jobs-august-2026/
- Type: Data
- Published: 2026-09-14
- Updated: 2026-09-14
- Publisher: Forex Trading Community (https://forextradingcommunity.com), FTC Editorial Team
- Currencies: CAD

Canadian employment fell by 42,000, or 0.2%, in August 2026, Statistics Canada reported on 4 September. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.4%, and the employment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%.

The drop followed a strong run. According to The Canadian Press's report on the release, employment had risen by 181,000 from April to July, including 75,000 in July alone.

## Where jobs were lost and gained

- **Business, building and other support services**: down 20,000 (−2.8%)
- **Public administration**: down 8,800 (−0.7%)
- **Natural resources**: down 7,700 (−2.3%)
- **Utilities**: down 5,600 (−3.5%)
- **Manufacturing**: up 22,000 (+1.2%)

Unemployment rose among men aged 25 to 54, by 0.2 points to 6.0%, and fell among women in the same age group, by 0.2 points to 5.0%. The youth unemployment rate was little changed at 12.9%.

## Wages slow sharply

Average hourly wages were 2.0% higher than a year earlier, down from 2.8% in July and 3.3% in June: the slowest annual increase since November 2017.

## What it means for the loonie

The Bank of Canada kept its policy rate at 2.25% in September, its seventh straight hold ([report](/news/bank-of-canada-holds-2-25-september-2026/)). Falling employment and slower wage growth ease any pressure on the Bank to raise rates, even with energy prices high. For [USD/CAD](/markets/usd-cad/), that has to be weighed against oil, which usually supports the Canadian dollar ([oil and the Canadian dollar](/news/oil-prices-and-the-canadian-dollar/)), and against the Federal Reserve's decision on 16 September.

Second-quarter GDP, published a week earlier, told a stronger story: see [Canada's economy grows at a 3.3% annualized pace](/news/canada-gdp-second-quarter-2026/).

## Sources

- [Statistics Canada: The Daily, Labour Force Survey, August 2026](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/260904/dq260904a-eng.htm)
- [BNN Bloomberg (The Canadian Press): Economy sheds 42,000 jobs, unemployment rate steady in August](https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/economics/2026/09/04/economy-sheds-42000-jobs-unemployment-rate-steady-in-august-statcan/)

## Common questions

### What was Canada's unemployment rate in August 2026?

6.4%, unchanged from July, according to Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey released on 4 September 2026.

### How many jobs did Canada lose in August 2026?

Employment fell by 42,000, or 0.2%. Manufacturing added 22,000 jobs, while business, building and other support services lost 20,000.

### How fast are Canadian wages growing?

Average hourly wages rose 2.0% from a year earlier in August 2026, down from 2.8% in July and the slowest pace since November 2017.

---

This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money.