September 11, 2026

Employment declined by 42,000 (-0.2%) in August and the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.4%.

Employment fell among youth aged 15 to 24 (-19,000; -0.7%) and edged down (-16,000; -0.1%) among people in the core-age (25 to 54 years old).

While the overall unemployment rate was unchanged in August, it increased among core-aged men (+0.2 percentage points to 6.0%) and fell for core-aged women (-0.2 percentage points to 5.0%). The unemployment rate was little changed for youth (12.9%) and people aged 55 and older (5.1%).

Employment declined in business, building and other support services (-20,000; -2.8%), public administration (-8,800; -0.7%), natural resources (-7,700; -2.3%) and utilities (-5,600; -3.5%), while it increased in manufacturing (+22,000; +1.2%).

Employment declined in Quebec (-19,000; -0.4%) and edged down in Ontario (-18,000; -0.2%). Employment increased in New Brunswick (+2,400; +0.6%) and was little changed in the other provinces.

Average hourly wages among employees were up 2.0% (+$0.71 to $37.02) on a year-over-year basis in August, following growth of 2.8% in July (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment declines in August

Employment fell by 42,000 (-0.2%) in August. The decrease follows a cumulative increase of 181,000 (+0.9%) from April to July. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 217,000 (+1.0%) in August.

The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 60.8% in August. The employment rate in August was on par with the rate recorded at the start of the year, and up 0.3 percentage points compared with August 2025.

Chart 1
Employment rate decreases in August

The number of public sector employees fell in August (-20,000; -0.4%), down for the third consecutive month. Since May, the number of public sector employees has declined by 78,000 (-1.7%) and was little changed in August compared with a year earlier.

Employment was little changed among private sector employees in August but was up by 156,000 (+1.1%) year over year. Similarly, self-employment was little changed in August compared with the previous month but increased by 80,000 (+3.0%) compared with 12 months earlier.

Unemployment rate unchanged at 6.4%

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.4% in August. This follows three consecutive monthly declines in May, June and July totalling 0.5 percentage points.

Chart 2
Unemployment rate unchanged at 6.4% in August

Among the 1.5 million people who were unemployed in August, 24.0% were in long-term unemployment, meaning they had been continuously searching for work for 27 weeks or more. This proportion was similar to that of August 2025 (23.0%) and remained above the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 17.1% recorded from 2017 to 2019.

The layoff rate was 0.8% in August, slightly below the rate of 1.0% observed 12 months earlier and similar to the average layoff rate (0.9%) observed for the corresponding months from 2017 to 2019 (not seasonally adjusted). The layoff rate refers to the proportion of people who became unemployed due to a layoff between July and August.

Industries dependent on US demand for exports continue to face an uncertain economic context, compounded by the recent imposition of new US tariffs on Canadian exports. In the 12 months to August, the layoff rate averaged 0.9% for workers in industries dependent on US demand for exports. In comparison, the rate was 0.7% for other industries over the same period. For more information about the labour dynamics of industries dependent on US demand for exports, see “Recent employment trends in industries dependent on U.S. demand” and “United States tariffs and Canadian labour market trends.”

The participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—fell 0.1 percentage points to 65.0% in August, offsetting a similar-sized increase in July. On a year-over-year basis, the participation rate was little changed.

Unemployment rate rises among core-aged men

In August, the unemployment rate for core-aged men (25 to 54 years old) rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.0%, as more men in this age group entered the labour market and searched for work. Employment held steady for core-aged men and the employment rate was unchanged at 86.5%.

Compared with 12 months earlier, the unemployment rate for core-aged men was down 0.3 percentage points and the employment rate was up 0.6 percentage points.

Among core-aged women, the unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 5.0% in August, as the labour force declined by 31,000 (-0.4%) and the number searching for work fell slightly. Employment for core-aged women edged down (-17,000; -0.3%).

The employment rate for core-aged women fell 0.3 percentage points to 80.9% in August, following a five-month cumulative increase of 1.1 percentage points. Despite the decline in August, the employment rate for core-aged women was up on a year-over-year basis (+1.5 percentage points) and remained higher than the corresponding pre-pandemic average of 79.1% observed from 2017 to 2019.

Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group, August 2026

Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group, August 2026

For people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.1%, as employment held steady. The employment rate for people between the ages of 55 and 64 was 64.3% in August, little changed both in the month and on a year-over-year basis.

Youth employment declines

Employment among youth fell by 19,000 (-0.7%) in August. The youth employment rate was little changed at 55.1% in the month and was up by 1.2 percentage points from 12 months earlier.

The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 edged up 0.3 percentage points to 12.9% in August, following a net decline of 1.7 percentage points from April to July. The youth unemployment rate in August was 1.4 percentage points lower than a year earlier (14.3%) but remained higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8% recorded from 2017 to 2019.

More favourable summer job market for returning students in 2026 compared with previous year

From May to August, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects labour market information from students who attended school full time in March and who intend to return to school full time in the fall.

The unemployment rate for returning students aged 15 to 24 was 15.6% in August, down 1.3 percentage points from 12 months earlier (16.9%) (not seasonally adjusted). On average from May to August 2026, the unemployment rate for returning students was 15.9%, down from 17.9% during this same period in 2025.

Chart 3
Unemployment rate for returning students during the summer months, 1977 to 2026

The decrease in the unemployment rate from the summer of 2025 to the summer of 2026 was more pronounced for older returning students. Among returning students aged 20 to 24, the unemployment rate was 9.2% in the summer of 2026, down from 12.3% in the summer of 2025. For returning students aged 17 to 19, the unemployment rate was 16.7%, down from 18.5% in 2025. Meanwhile, among the youngest returning students—aged 15 to 16—the unemployment rate was 29.9% this summer, little changed from the rate in 2025 (29.6%).

Employment declines spread across several industries, while manufacturing rises

Employment declined in business, building and other support services (-20,000; -2.8%), public administration (-8,800; -0.7%), natural resources (-7,700; -2.3%), and utilities (-5,600; -3.5%) in August. Despite recording monthly declines, employment in these four industries was little changed on a year-over-year basis.

Chart 4
Employment change by industry, August 2026

Manufacturing (+22,000; +1.2%) was the only sector to record a significant increase in employment in August, with most of that increase (+14,000; +1.7%) in Ontario. On a year-over-year basis, employment in this sector was little changed, as the increase in August offset decreases earlier in the year.

Over the 12 months to August, employment growth was concentrated in health care and social assistance (+129,000; +4.5%), information, culture and recreation (+49,000; +5.9%) and transportation and warehousing (+47,000; +4.4%). On the other hand, wholesale and retail trade (-55,000; -1.8%) recorded the largest decline across industries over the same period.

Year-over-year growth in average hourly wages decelerates for the second consecutive month

Average hourly wages among employees in August were up 2.0% (to $37.02) year over year, following growth of 2.8% in July and 3.3% in June (not seasonally adjusted).

Chart 5
Year-over-year change (%) in average hourly wages

Year-over-year growth in average hourly wages had remained robust through the post-pandemic period, and averaged 4.9% over 2023 and 2024, before decelerating to an average of 3.4% in 2025. Wage growth in August 2026 was the slowest since November 2017 (when it was also 2.0%), excluding the year 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year-over-year wage growth was slower for employees with lower wages in August. For employees in the bottom 25% of the wage distribution, average hourly wages were up 1.1% (to $18.66) year over year, while they were up 1.3% (to $26.61) for employees in the second lowest 25% of the wage distribution. In comparison, wages grew faster for employees in the third (+2.1% to $37.99) and top (+2.1% to $65.15) quartiles.

Employment declines in Quebec

Employment in Quebec declined by 19,000 (-0.4%) in August, following little change in July. The decline in employment was concentrated in the census metropolitan area (CMA) of Montréal (-21,000; -0.9%). In August, Quebec was the only province to record a year-over-year decline in employment (-54,000; -1.2%). The unemployment rate in the province held steady at 5.6% in August and was little changed year over year. In the Montréal CMA, the unemployment rate was 6.5% in August, little changed both in the month and on a year-over-year basis.

Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, August 2026

Employment edged down in Ontario (-18,000; -0.2%), following a net increase of 119,000 (+1.5%) from March to July. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province was up by 116,000 (+1.4%) in August. The unemployment rate in Ontario was 6.9% in August, little changed from the previous month, and down 0.8 percentage points compared with August 2025. In the Toronto CMA, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7% in August and was down from a recent high of 9.0% observed in July 2025.

In New Brunswick, employment increased by 2,400 (+0.6%) in August, following three months of little change. The unemployment rate in the province was little changed at 7.3%. There was little variation in employment in the other provinces.

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