Canada’s employment rose +60k (+0.3%) in September 2025, lifting the employment rate by +0.1 ppt to 60.6% and marking the first monthly increase in three months, while the unemployment rate held steady at 7.1%.

• Full-time employment rose sharply (+106k; +0.6%), offsetting a -46k (-1.2%) drop in part-time jobs, signaling a shift toward more stable positions.

• Core-aged workers (25–54) drove the gains, with employment rising +76k (+1.2%) among women and +33k (+0.5%) among men, while employment among those aged 55+ fell -44k (-1.0%).

• Youth employment was little changed, but the youth unemployment rate climbed to 14.7%, the highest since 2010 (ex-COVID), driven by higher joblessness among students (17.1%, +3.1 ppts YoY).

• Employment increased in manufacturing (+28k; +1.5%), health care and social assistance (+14k; +0.5%), and agriculture (+13k; +6.1%), while wholesale and retail trade declined (-21k; -0.7%).

• Alberta led job gains (+43k; +1.7%), followed by New Brunswick (+4.7k; +1.2%) and Manitoba (+3.9k; +0.5%); Newfoundland and Labrador saw a decline (-2.2k; -0.9%).

• Public sector employment rose +31k (+0.7%), while the private sector (+22k; +0.2%) and self-employment (+7.9k; +0.3%) saw smaller increases.

• Average hourly wages increased +3.3% YoY (+$1.17 to $36.78), slightly outpacing August’s +3.2% growth.

• Despite September’s rebound, total employment has shown minimal net growth year-to-date (+22k; +0.1%), underscoring a weak trend since early 2025.