September 2025 Canada Talent Market Monthly

Canada loses 66,000 jobs as unemployment rate climbs to 7.1%

The Canadian economy lost 66K jobs (-0.3%) in August, adding to the decline of 41K in July. The loss was mostly in part-time work (-60K; -1.5%), full-time employment was little changed (-6K; -0.0%).

The unemployment rate ticked up 0.2% to 7.1% and was the highest since May 2016 (excluding the pandemic). The rate has been consistently rising this year, up from 6.6% in January. For comparison, it averaged 6.0% from 2017 to 2019, just prior to the pandemic.

Check out the latest edition of the Canada Talent Market Monthly for details.