Canada jobless rate rises as employment falls again

Canada’s economy lost jobs for a second straight month in September, and the unemployment rate edged higher, Statistics Canada said Friday. Employers cut 68,300 jobs in September, following a decline of 41,700 in August. The latest drop erased more than half of the employment gains seen in the spring and early summer. 5%, returning to the level seen in June and at the start of the year.

9% reached in April, and the increase would have been larger without a drop in labor force participation. S. S. dollar after the report.

Economists had expected employment to rise by 9,000 in September. 5%, while employment has fallen by a cumulative 110000 over August and September alone," said Jessica Hinds, director at Fitch Ratings. 6% rate a year earlier and the average from 2017 to 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic. 5%.

4%, the lowest level outside the pandemic since 1997. Job losses were evenly split between full-time and part-time work, but were concentrated among youth aged 15 to 24, who had seen a recovery in employment over the summer and typically experience a pullback in job numbers when school restarts. Analysts also pointed to federal government efforts to reduce temporary immigration, which has cut foreign student enrollment in colleges and universities. The public sector accounted for most of the decline in employment after a sharp drop in education jobs.

The healthcare sector also lost jobs during the month. Public-sector jobs fell by 70000, marking a fourth straight decline, while private-sector employment rose 24100 and is about 163000 above a year earlier. Economists said the job losses can only partly be linked to the trade war. S.

imports. Manufacturing employment dropped by 12700, the first decline since June. S. tariffs took effect.

Some economists still expect interest rates to be raised this year as the central bank responds proactively to the risk that higher gasoline prices could spread more broadly into inflation. Others say a possible softening of the economy into year-end argues for continued looser monetary policy. Surveys such as recent purchasing managers' indexes suggest hiring demand is likely to remain weak, although other leading indicators show Hiring has not so far fallen sharply despite the latest round of tariffs, with economists at Indeed saying job postings on the site’s boards have been fairly steady over the past year.

They said that is an improvement after several years of decline. Douglas Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal Capital Markets, said the Bank of Canada should remain watchful, particularly as employment has suddenly clouded over. He said the weak result greatly reduces the chances, and the rationale, for rate hikes. October 09, 2026 11:45 ET (15:45 GMT)