Canada Sheds 68,000 Jobs in September, Unemployment Rises to 6.5% as Rate-Hike Expectations Cool
Statistics Canada released its September Labour Force Survey on October 9, 2026: employment fell by 68,000 (0.3 percent), a second consecutive monthly decline after a loss of about 42,000 in August. The unemployment rate rose to 6.5 percent from 6.4 percent, and the employment rate slipped to 60.6 percent. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a gain of about 9,200, making the miss stark, Statistics Canada and Reuters reported.
The losses split almost evenly between full-time work, down about 35,000, and part-time work, down about 33,000. Public-sector employment fell 70,000, a fourth straight monthly decline and 119,000 lower than a year earlier, with educational services down 35,000, health care and social assistance down 23,000, and manufacturing down roughly 13,000. Employment among 15-to-24-year-olds fell 48,000, a two-month loss of 67,000, while youth unemployment held at 13.0 percent. Average hourly wages rose 2.3 percent year over year to $37.64.
The regional split was sharp: Quebec lost 49,000 jobs, more than 70 percent of the national decline; Ontario and British Columbia each lost 20,000; Alberta added 23,000, the only major province to gain. The participation rate fell to 64.8 percent, its lowest since December 1997 outside the pandemic, which Statistics Canada attributed largely to population aging, fewer young entrants and slower international student arrivals.
Markets promptly cut bets on a Bank of Canada rate hike. Economists at TD and CIBC said the report poured cold water on the case for a hike at the October 28 decision, with market pricing for an October move falling to roughly one in four, though analysts cautioned that monthly data are volatile and the weakness may reflect noise more than a direct hit from U.S. tariffs. The next labour report is due November 6.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 渥太华国会山中央大楼。摄影：Ken Lund，CC BY-SA 2.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
