Canada Lost 68,000 Jobs in September: StatCan

Canada lost 68,000 jobs in September, marking a second straight month of employment losses, according to Statistics Canada.

The country’s unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 6.5 percent in September, the agency said in its Oct. 9 report. The rate had peaked at 6.9 percent in April before declining to 6.4 percent in July, where it remained in August.

Economists had projected 9,200 jobs would be added in September.

In August, employment fell by 42,000 jobs, well below expectations for a gain of 15,000 in a Reuters poll of economists and an increase of 5,000 forecast by RBC Economics.

In September, employment fell by 35,000 jobs in educational services, 23,000 in health care and social assistance, and 13,000 in manufacturing. By contrast, employment in other services, which includes repair and maintenance as well as personal and household services, increased by 17,000.

Employment fell by 49,000 jobs in Quebec, 20,000 in British Columbia, and 4,400 in Manitoba. However, it rose by 23,000 jobs in Alberta, 1,800 in Newfoundland and Labrador, and 1,000 in Prince Edward Island.

The number of public-sector employees declined by 70,000 in September, marking a fourth consecutive monthly decline. Public-sector employment was down 119,000 from a year earlier. By contrast, private-sector employment was little changed for a second consecutive month, but was up 163,000 compared with a year earlier.

The labour force participation rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 64.8 percent in September, which Statistics Canada said was the lowest since 1997, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment among Canadian youth aged 15 to 24 fell by 48,000 jobs for a second straight month in September, offsetting gains of 67,000 jobs from April to July. The youth unemployment rate was virtually unchanged, at 13 percent.

The unemployment rate among women aged 25 to 54 rose by 0.3 percentage points to 5.3 percent in September. Among men in the same age group, the rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 5.8 percent. The unemployment rate among Canadians aged 55 and older rose by 0.2 percentage points to 5.3 percent.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement that his party would “fight” for the 68,000 Canadians who lost their jobs in September. 

“We will unblock resources, scrap taxes on fuel and reinvestments here at home, remove red tape, and make Canada the best place in the world to hire and boost pay,” he said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney had said during question period on Oct. 5 that Canada had the fastest growing economy in the G7 in the last quarter, improving housing affordability, and growing incomes. 

“There is more to do, but we have momentum. We are building Canada,” Carney said.