Unemployment Drops to 6.5 Percent as Economy Adds 54,000 Jobs: StatCan

Canada’s unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points to 6.5 percent in November, with 54,000 jobs being created, according to Statistics Canada.

The Labour Force Survey released on Dec. 5 marks the second month in a row unemployment has fallen, declining from 7.1 percent to 6.9 percent. September’s unemployment rate was a high not seen since 2016 outside of the COVID-19 pandemic years, after drifting upward for most of 2025.

The StatCan report said the employment growth was concentrated among youth, with 50,000 of the jobs added for those aged 15 to 24. Employment for Canadians aged 25 to 54 years and those over 55 remained relatively unchanged.

Employment gains were centred in health care and social services (46,000), accommodation and food services (14,000), and natural resources (11,000). Employment in wholesale and retail trade, meanwhile, fell by 34,000. While the number of private sector employees rose by 52,000 (+0.4 percent) in November, there was little change in the number of public sector employees.

When broken down by province, Alberta added 29,000 jobs, New Brunswick added 5,500, and Manitoba added 4,500 jobs, while employment changed little in other provinces.

Most of the job gains in November were concentrated in part-time work, with 63,000 part-time jobs added. StatCan noted that the rate of Canadians working part-time on an involuntary basis had changed little from one year ago, sitting at around 18 percent.

The survey said youth gains in November followed an increase of 21,000 jobs in October, which was the first increase in employment for youth since the start of the year. The survey said Canadian youth “bore the brunt of a difficult labour market through most of 2025.”

The youth unemployment rate fell by 1.3 percentage points to 12.8 percent in November after falling by 0.6 percentage points the month before. The rate hit 14.7 percent in September, which was the highest rate outside of the pandemic since 2010.

Average hourly wages among Canadian employees also increased by 3.6 percent on a year-over-year basis in November, following growth of 3.5 percent in October.

The report noted that 74 percent of Canadians surveyed in November said they felt secure in their job, but this was down 4 percentage points compared with November 2023. “This lower sense of job security may reflect a more uncertain economic environment, industry-specific concerns with layoffs and other factors,” the survey said.

Employees in industries dependent on demand for Canadian exports from the United States were less likely to feel secure in their job, with 69 percent saying they felt this way. The United States has placed a series of tariffs on countries around the world, with tariffs on sectors related to automobiles, steel, and aluminum significantly impacting Canada and leading to lay-offs.

The Bank of Canada will make its next interest rate announcement on Dec. 10, where it is expected to keep rates steady at 2.25 percent. Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said on Oct. 29 that if Canada’s economy continued growing in line with the bank’s expectations, the current interest rate would be at the “right level” to keep inflation low while helping the economy grow.