Canada loses 68,000 jobs in September as unemployment rises to 6.5% and participation falls to 64.8%

Statistics Canada published its Labour Force Survey for September on 9 October 2026. Employment fell by 68,000, or 0.3%, after a fall of 42,000 in August. The decline was split between full-time work (down 35,000) and part-time work (down 33,000). The unemployment rate rose 0.1 point to 6.5%.

The rates

• Unemployment rate: 6.5%. It peaked at 6.9% in April, fell to 6.4% in July and August, and was back to 6.5% by September, the same as in January
• Employment rate: 60.6%, down 0.2 point, a second consecutive monthly decline. On a year-over-year basis it was unchanged
• Participation rate: 64.8%, down 0.2 point. Statistics Canada says that is the lowest since December 1997, excluding 2020

Statistics Canada attributes much of the lower participation rate to population ageing. Holding the age mix at its September 2019 level, the participation rate would be little changed on the year, down 0.1 point, and 0.2 point higher than in September 2019.

Where the jobs went

• Educational services: −35,000 (−2.2%)
• Health care and social assistance: −23,000 (−0.8%)
• Manufacturing: −13,000 (−0.7%)
• Other services: +17,000 (+2.1%)
• Public sector: −70,000, the fourth consecutive monthly fall. Private sector employment was little changed for a second month and is up 163,000 on the year

The decline was concentrated among young people aged 15 to 24, down 48,000 (−1.8%), and among women aged 25 to 54, down 28,000. Youth unemployment was 13.0%. The unemployment rate for core-aged women rose 0.3 point to 5.3%, while for core-aged men it fell 0.2 point to 5.8%.

Provinces

Quebec lost 49,000 jobs (−1.1%), and its unemployment rate rose 0.4 point to 6.0%. British Columbia lost 20,000 and Manitoba 4,400. Alberta added 23,000 (+0.9%), and its unemployment rate fell 0.4 point to 6.4%. Newfoundland and Labrador had the highest unemployment rate, at 9.1%.

Wages and flows

Average hourly wages among employees rose 2.3% on the year in September, after 2.0% in August, on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis. The job-finding rate was 30.6%, down from 32.8% a year earlier and below the 2017–2019 average of 36.5%. The layoff rate was 0.7%, close to a year earlier.

Why it matters for the loonie

The Bank of Canada has to weigh a weaker labour market against inflation that is still close to 3%. The Bank held its policy rate at 2.25% in September (report) and decides again on 28 October. August's consumer price inflation was 3.0% (report). The August jobs report is covered in our earlier report, and the preview of this release is here. For how a jobs report moves USD/CAD, see how to trade USD/CAD. Live prices: USD/CAD.