July 1, 2026

Employment increased by 88,000 (+0.4%) in May and the employment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 60.7%. The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 6.6%.

Employment increased among core-aged (25 to 54 years old) women (+31,000; +0.5%), core-aged men (+25,000; +0.3%), and youth aged 15 to 24 (+22,000; +0.8%).

The unemployment rate for youth declined 0.9 percentage points to 13.4%. The rate also fell among core-aged women (-0.4 percentage points to 5.5%) and core-aged men (-0.4 percentage points to 5.7%).

Employment increased in several industries, most notably in construction (+27,000; +1.7%), information, culture and recreation (+19,000; +2.3%), transportation and warehousing (+19,000; +1.7%) and accommodation and food services (+17,000; +1.5%). On the other hand, employment decreased in wholesale and retail trade (-35,000; -1.2%).

Employment rose in Ontario (+42,000; +0.5%), British Columbia (+25,000; +0.9%), Alberta (+14,000; +0.5%) and Prince Edward Island (+1,200; +1.3%), while it fell in Saskatchewan (-6,100; -1.0%).

Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.0% (+$1.10 to $37.24) on a year-over-year basis in May, following growth of 4.5% in April (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment increases driven by full-time work

Employment increased by 88,000 (+0.4%) in May, the first significant employment gain since November 2025. The increase in May follows a net decline of 112,000 (-0.5%) over the first four months of 2026. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 147,000 (+0.7%) in May.

Chart 1
Employment rate rises in May 2026, the first increase since November 2025

The number of people working full-time rose by 154,000 (+0.9%) in May. The increase in the month offsets a downward trend observed from January to April, in which the number of full-time workers fell by 156,000 (-0.9%). In May, part-time employment decreased by 66,000 (-1.7%).

The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—rose by 0.2 percentage points to 60.7% in May. This was the first increase since November 2025. The employment rate was unchanged on a year-over-year basis in May 2026.

Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group, May 2026

Employment rose among employees in both the private sector (+56,000; +0.4%) and the public sector (+20,000; +0.4%) in May. The number of self-employed workers was little changed.

Unemployment rate falls to 6.6%

The unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 6.6% in May. The rate had previously increased from a recent low of 6.5% in January to 6.9% in April.

Chart 2
Unemployment rate falls to 6.6% in May 2026, below the recent high of 7.1% in August and September 2025

Since the spring of 2024, the unemployment rate has remained above its average (6.0%) observed from 2017 to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment rate reached a recent peak in August and September 2025, when it was 7.1%.

As employment picked up in May, the job-finding rate ticked up: just over one-quarter (26.3%) of people who were unemployed in April found work in May. This was up 3.7 percentage points compared with the same period last year but remained below the pre-pandemic average for the corresponding months from 2017 to 2019 (31.5%). At the same time, the layoff rate remained relatively stable at 0.6%, little changed compared with a year earlier and in-line with the pre-pandemic average (not seasonally adjusted).

Youth unemployment rate declines

The unemployment rate among youth (aged 15 to 24) fell 0.9 percentage points to 13.4% in May, the first decline since January. The youth unemployment rate in May was 1.2 percentage points below the recent peak recorded in September 2025 (14.6%). Youth have faced more difficult labour market conditions in recent years. Since January 2024, the youth unemployment rate has consistently been above the pre-pandemic average of 10.8%.

Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group, May 2026

The number of youth working full-time rose in May (+99,000; +7.7%), offsetting a similar-sized decline over the previous four months (-91,000; -6.6%). Gains in full-time work in the month were partially offset by a decline in the number of youth working part-time (-76,000; -5.5%). On a year-over-year basis, the number of young people working full-time was little changed, while the number working part-time was down by 45,000 (-3.3%).

Unemployment rate down among core-aged women and men

For people in the core working age (25 to 54 years old), the unemployment rate fell among both women (-0.4 percentage points to 5.5%) and men (-0.4 percentage points to 5.7%) in May. For core-aged women, the rate was little changed from 12 months earlier, while for men in this age group it was down 0.5 percentage points.

Declines in the unemployment rate in May coincided with increases in the number of employed core-aged women and men. Among core-aged women, employment rose by 31,000 (+0.5%), all in full-time work (+38,000; +0.7%). For core-aged men, employment rose by 25,000 (+0.3%).

Employment among people aged 55 years and older was little changed in May and the unemployment rate for people in this age group was also little changed at 5.0%.

Students see better start to the summer job market than last year

May marks the beginning of another summer student job season—an important source of income and work experience for many young Canadians. From May to August, the Labour Force Survey collects labour market information about students who attended school full time in March and who intend to return to school full time in the fall. The month of May provides the first indicator of the summer job market, especially for older youth, as high-school students are still attending classes.

In May, the unemployment rate among returning students aged 15 to 24 was 18.0%, down 2.1 percentage points from the same month in 2025 (20.1%). In 2025, returning students had faced the slowest start to the summer job market since 2009 (outside 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic) (not seasonally adjusted).

Among returning students who were employed, a higher proportion worked in accommodation and food services in May 2026 compared with May 2025 (+2.5 percentage points to 23.0%). The largest share worked in retail trade (28.4%), which was little changed from the previous year. Information, culture and recreation was another industry in which a large proportion of returning students were employed (12.6%).

Employment growth across several industries, led by construction

Employment gains in May were broad-based across industries, with the largest increases in construction (+27,000; +1.7%), information, culture and recreation (+19,000; +2.3%), transportation and warehousing (+19,000; +1.7%) and accommodation and food services (+17,000; +1.5%).

Chart 3
Employment change by industry, May 2026

Despite the monthly gains, employment in May was little changed on a year-over-year basis in construction as well as in information, culture and recreation. On the other hand, employment was up compared with 12 months earlier in transportation and warehousing (+36,000; +3.4%) and accommodation and food services (+34,000; +3.0%).

Employment also rose in manufacturing in May (+15,000; +0.8%). Employment in this industry was little changed compared with 12 months earlier, but was down 44,000 (-2.3%) compared with January 2025. The manufacturing sector has faced heightened economic uncertainty since early 2025, driven by U.S. tariff policies.

In May 2026, fewer people worked in wholesale and retail trade (-35,000; -1.2%). Employment in this industry has trended down since October 2025 and was down by 64,000 (-2.1%) in May 2026 compared with a year earlier.

Employment increases in Ontario for the second consecutive month

Employment in Ontario increased by 42,000 (+0.5%) in May, bringing the cumulative gains for April and May to 84,000 (+1.0%). At the same time, the unemployment rate in Ontario fell 0.5 percentage points to 7.0%—the lowest rate since September 2024.

Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, May 2026

In British Columbia, employment rose by 25,000 (+0.9%) in May, partially offsetting the cumulative loss of 39,000 (-1.3%) recorded in February and March. The unemployment rate in the province was unchanged at 6.8% in May.

In Alberta, employment increased by 14,000 (+0.5%) in May, following three consecutive months of little variation. Employment in Alberta was up by 104,000 (+4.1%) on a year-over-year basis in May, the largest year-over-year increase among the provinces. The unemployment rate in Alberta was 6.6% in May, down 0.4 percentage points in the month and down 0.8 percentage points compared with 12 months earlier.

Employment also rose in Prince Edward Island in May (+1,200; +1.3%). Compared with 12 months earlier, employment in the province was up by 4,700 (+5.1%). The unemployment rate in Prince Edward Island fell 1.3 percentage points to 6.7% in May.

On the other hand, employment fell in Saskatchewan (-6,100; -1.0%) in May. Despite the decline in the month, employment in the province was little changed compared with 12 months earlier. The unemployment rate in Saskatchewan was 6.2% in May, up 0.6 percentage points from April.

Employment in Quebec edged up (+13,000; +0.3%) in May, following a net decline of 91,000 (-1.9%) from January to April. The unemployment rate in Quebec declined 0.6 percentage points to 5.6% in May, as fewer people searched for work. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate in the province was little changed.

Unemployment rate down in the Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver census metropolitan areas

The unemployment rate in the Toronto census metropolitan area fell 1.1 percentage points to 6.8% in May, the lowest level since November 2023. The rate in May 2026 was down from a recent peak of 9.0% in May 2025 and July 2025. Recent declines in Toronto have brought its unemployment rate closer to the rate observed in Montréal (6.5%) and Vancouver (6.4%) in May 2026.

Chart 4
Unemployment rate trends among the largest census metropolitan areas

The unemployment rate also fell in Montréal (-1.2 percentage points) in May, largely offsetting the increase recorded in the previous month. In Vancouver, the unemployment rate decreased 0.6 percentage points to 6.4%. In both Montréal and Vancouver, the unemployment rate in May was virtually unchanged on a year-over-year basis.

In the Spotlight: The proportion of Canadians working exclusively from home continues to decrease

Following the pandemic, which saw record proportions of employed Canadians working remotely, many Canadian workers returned to offices or work sites outside the home. The share of employed Canadians working exclusively outside of home has increased gradually since then, while hybrid work arrangements have been stable since 2023.

In May 2026, the proportion of Canadians working exclusively outside of the home was 78.8%, higher than the corresponding proportions in May 2025 (77.6%) and May 2022 (75.0%).

Chart 5
Work location for employed Canadians for the month of May

In contrast, the proportion of employed Canadians working exclusively from home in May 2026 (11.4%), was down 1.0 percentage points from the same month in 2025 (12.4%) and down 7.3 percentage points from May 2022 (18.7%).

About 1 in 10 (9.8%) workers had a hybrid work arrangement in May 2026, in which they worked some hours at home and some hours at locations other than home. The proportion working in a hybrid arrangement rose from 6.4% in May 2022 to 10.0% in May 2023 and has varied little since then.

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