May 14, 2026

Highlights

Employment was little changed in April (-18,000; -0.1%) and the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.5%.

The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%, as more people searched for work.

Employment varied little across major age groups in April. However, the unemployment rate increased among youth aged 15 to 24 (+0.5 percentage points to 14.3%) and among core-aged men aged 25 to 54 (+0.3 percentage points to 6.1%).

Fewer people were employed in Quebec (-43,000; -0.9%), Newfoundland and Labrador (-5,200; -2.1%), Saskatchewan (-4,000; -0.6%) and New Brunswick (-2,700; -0.7%). Employment increased in Ontario (+42,000; +0.5%) and was little changed in the other provinces.

Average hourly wages among employees were up 4.5% (+$1.64 to $37.77) on a year-over-year basis in April, following growth of 4.7% in March (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment varies little for second consecutive month

Employment was little changed in April (-18,000; -0.1%). This marked the second consecutive month of little variation following the monthly decline of 84,000 (-0.4%) in February. On a year-over-year basis, employment in April was up by 67,000 (+0.3%), but recorded a net decline of 112,000 (-0.5%) over the first four months of 2026.

Chart 1
Employment rate declines in April

The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 60.5% in April, matching a recent low observed in August 2025. The rate was down 0.3 percentage points on a year-over-year basis in April.

Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group, April 2026

In April, full-time employment fell by 47,000 (-0.3%), while part-time employment edged up (+29,000; +0.8%). The net overall decline in employment over the first four months of 2026 was concentrated in full-time work, which fell by 111,000 (-0.6%) over the period.

There was little change in the number of private and public sector employees as well as in the number of self-employed workers in April. Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of private sector employees was up by 91,000 (+0.7%), while self-employment was down by 55,000 (-2.0%). Public sector employment was little changed over the period.

Unemployment rate rises to 6.9%

In April, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%, as more people searched for work (+51,000; +3.4%). The unemployment rate has increased 0.4 percentage points since January 2026, but remained below the recent peak of 7.1% observed in August and September of 2025. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was virtually unchanged in April 2026.

Chart 2
Unemployment rate increases to 6.9% in April

The proportion of unemployed people who had been continuously searching for work for 27 weeks or more—considered long-term unemployment—was 22.5% in April. This proportion was little changed both in the month and compared with 12 months earlier. However, it remained significantly above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 17.1% observed from 2017 to 2019.

At the same time, the monthly layoff rate (0.6%) in April remained in-line with the pre-pandemic average, showing no recent elevation (not seasonally adjusted).

Labour force participation up in April

The participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—rose by 0.1 percentage points to 65.0% in April as more people were in the labour force searching for work. The increase was concentrated among core-aged people, whose labour force participation rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 88.5%.

On a year-over-year basis, the overall labour force participation rate was down 0.3 percentage points in April. This mostly reflected population aging which has put downward pressure on the labour supply, as more individuals have transitioned into retirement. Among core-aged people, the labour force participation rate was up 0.3 percentage points year over year, while for youth aged 15 to 24, it was little changed.

Youth unemployment rate increases

The youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 14.3% in April, as employment varied little and the number of young people searching for work edged up (+14,000; +3.3%). The youth unemployment rate was virtually unchanged on a year-over-year basis but remained markedly above the pre-pandemic average of 10.8%.

Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group, April 2026

In April, the youth unemployment rate for students was 16.0%, 2.5 percentage points higher than the corresponding rate for non-students (13.5%) (not seasonally adjusted). Both rates were little changed on a year-over-year basis.

In addition to the elevated unemployment rate, the overall youth labour force participation rate was 62.9% in April, virtually unchanged from a year earlier but below the pre-pandemic average of 65.4%.

Compared with the pre-pandemic average, the participation rate was down for youth who were attending school (-1.4 percentage points to 45.3%) while it was little changed for those not attending school (87.6%) (not seasonally adjusted). At the same time, a higher proportion of youth were attending school compared with before the pandemic, which also contributed to a lower labour force participation rate for this age group.

Employment holds steady among core-aged workers but unemployment rate rises for men

Among people of core working age (25 to 54 years), both men and women saw little variation in employment in April. For core-aged men, the unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 6.1% as more men in this age group searched for work.

The unemployment rate for core-aged women was 5.9% in April, virtually unchanged in the month and from 12 months earlier.

Among people aged 55 years and older, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9% in April and was down 0.5 percentage points compared with April of the previous year.

Average hourly wages rise 4.5% year over year

Average hourly wages among employees in April were up 4.5% year over year, following growth of 4.7% in March (not seasonally adjusted). In comparison, year-over-year wage increases averaged 3.4% in 2025.

Wage growth was stronger for employees with higher wages, on a year-over-year basis in April. For employees in the bottom 25% of the wage distribution, wages rose 3.5% (to $19.05) on a year-over-year basis in April. In comparison, average hourly wages grew more rapidly among employees in the second-lowest 25% of the wage distribution (+4.4% to $27.52), as well as the third (+4.9% to $39.06) and the top (+4.8% to $66.30) quartiles.

The recent acceleration in overall hourly wage growth largely reflected changes in the composition of employment, including a lower proportion of employees with shorter job tenure. Using a method that holds constant the composition of employees by occupation and job tenure, average hourly wages were up by 3.4% on a year-over-year basis in April, similar to the rate of growth observed in March (+3.6%) and February 2026 (+3.5%).

Employment gains year-over-year concentrated in health care and social assistance

On a month-over-month basis, employment decreases in April were concentrated in information, culture and recreation (-25,000; -2.8%), construction (-16,000; -1.0%), and in ‘other services’ (-13,000; -1.6%), an industry which includes repair and maintenance as well as personal services.

Chart 3
Employment change by industry, April 2026

On the other hand, employment increased in business, building and other support services (+22,000; +3.2%), health care and social assistance (+18,000; +0.6%) and in accommodation and food services (+13,000; +1.1%).

On a year-over-year basis, employment was little changed across most industries in April, with the notable exception of health care and social assistance, which was up 119,000 (+4.1%) over the period.

Employment falls in Quebec, rises in Ontario

In Quebec, employment fell in April (-43,000; -0.9%), the second significant monthly decline in the past three months. From January to April, employment in Quebec recorded a net decline of 91,000 (-1.9%). This was primarily concentrated in the Montréal census metropolitan area (CMA), where employment fell by 56,000 (-2.3%) over the same period.

Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, April 2026

The unemployment rate in Quebec rose by 0.8 percentage points to 6.2% in April, as fewer people were employed and more people searched for work. This matched the recent peak observed in June 2025. In the Montréal CMA, the unemployment rate rose 1.3 percentage points to 7.7% in April, its highest rate since July 2016 (excluding 2020 and 2021).

Employment also declined in Newfoundland and Labrador (-5,200; -2.1%), Saskatchewan (-4,000; -0.6%), and New Brunswick (-2,700; -0.7%) in April. The unemployment rate increased in Saskatchewan (+0.6 percentage points to 5.6%) and was little changed in Newfoundland and Labrador (10.0%) and New Brunswick (7.2%). Despite little variation in employment, the unemployment rate declined by 0.6 percentage points to 5.0% in Manitoba, the lowest rate across the provinces.

Employment rose in Ontario (+42,000; +0.5%) in April, following two consecutive months of little variation. The gain in April partially offsets the decline recorded in January (-67,000; -0.8%). The unemployment rate in Ontario edged down 0.1 percentage points to 7.5% in April.

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