Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.8 per cent in December as more people entered the job market to search for work, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey released Friday.
Employment increased modestly by 8,200 jobs during the month, leaving the employment rate unchanged at 60.9 per cent. The unemployment rate climbed 0.3 percentage points from November, partially offsetting declines in the previous two months.
The number of unemployed Canadians reached 1.6 million in December, an increase of 73,000 people from the previous month. The participation rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 65.4 per cent as more Canadians joined the labour force.
Full-time gains offset by part-time losses
Full-time employment rose by 50,000 positions in December while part-time work fell by 42,000 jobs. The decline in part-time employment partially offset cumulative gains of 148,000 part-time jobs recorded in October and November.
Over the 12 months ending in December 2025, part-time employment grew 2.6 per cent compared with 0.7 per cent growth in full-time positions.
Youth face renewed challenges
The unemployment rate for workers aged 15 to 24 increased 0.5 percentage points to 13.3 per cent in December as youth employment fell by 27,000 positions. The decline reversed improvements made in October and November when youth employment rose by 70,000 jobs.
Employment among workers aged 55 and older increased by 33,000 positions, while their unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 5.1 per cent.
Among core-aged workers aged 25 to 54, the unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points for both men and women, reaching 6.0 per cent and 5.9 per cent respectively.
Health care sector shows continued growth
Employment in health care and social assistance increased by 21,000 positions in December, building on growth of 46,000 jobs in November. The sector added 85,000 net positions over the 12 months ending in December.
Professional, scientific and technical services shed 18,000 jobs in December, marking the first decline since August. Other sectors posting losses included accommodation and food services, which lost 12,000 positions, and utilities, down 5,300 jobs.
Employment in other services such as personal and repair services increased by 15,000 positions.
Regional variations persist
Quebec added 16,000 jobs in December, the province’s first significant gain since June. The unemployment rate in Quebec rose 0.3 percentage points to 5.4 per cent as more residents searched for work.
Alberta lost 14,000 positions, partially offsetting a gain of 29,000 jobs in November. Saskatchewan shed 4,000 jobs and saw its unemployment rate climb 0.9 percentage points to 6.5 per cent.
Ontario’s employment remained essentially unchanged for the second consecutive month. The province’s unemployment rate increased 0.6 percentage points to 7.9 per cent as more residents entered the job market.
Wage growth continues to moderate
Average hourly wages for employees increased 3.4 per cent year-over-year in December, reaching $37.06. The growth rate declined slightly from November’s 3.6 per cent increase.
2025 labour market shows divided trajectory
The Canadian labour market faced challenges through the first eight months of 2025, with virtually no net employment growth between January and August. The unemployment rate reached 7.1 per cent in August, the highest level since May 2016 excluding pandemic years.
Labour market conditions improved in the final months of the year as employment rose by 181,000 positions between August and November before holding steady in December.
The job finding rate averaged 18.1 per cent between January and August 2025, lower than the 21.0 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. Layoff rates remained similar to historical levels at 0.8 per cent.
Digital platform work remains stable
Approximately 667,000 Canadians worked through digital platforms in the 12 months ending December 2025, representing 2.3 per cent of the population aged 15 to 69. The figure remained essentially unchanged from December 2024.
The most common types of platform work included food and goods delivery, personal transport services, and online sales. Less than one-quarter of platform workers were doing so as part of their main job in December.
Recent immigrants were six times more likely to engage in platform work than Canadian-born workers, with 8.4 per cent of recent immigrants reporting platform work in the previous 12 months compared with 1.5 per cent of those born in Canada.
Unemployment rate by province
Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):
- Newfoundland and Labrador 10.7 per cent (10.4)
- Prince Edward Island 7.3 per cent (7.7)
- Nova Scotia 6.5 per cent (6.7)
- New Brunswick 6.6 per cent (6.6)
- Quebec 5.4 per cent (5.1)
- Ontario 7.9 per cent (7.3)
- Manitoba 5.7 per cent (6.1)
- Saskatchewan 6.5 per cent (5.6)
- Alberta 6.8 per cent (6.5)
- British Columbia 6.4 per cent (6.4)
Unemployment rate by city
Here are the jobless rates last month by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets):
- St. John’s, N.L. 7.7 per cent (7.4)
- Halifax 5.8 per cent (5.7)
- Moncton, N.B. 5.8 per cent (6.5)
- Saint John, N.B. 6.4 per cent (7.4)
- Fredericton 6.3 per cent (6.7)
- Saguenay, Que. 4.8 per cent (5.0)
- Quebec City 3.4 per cent (4.2)
- Sherbrooke, Que. 5.6 per cent (5.4)
- Trois-Rivières, Que. 3.9 per cent (3.9)
- Drummondville, Que. 4.7 per cent (4.9)
- Montreal 5.8 per cent (5.9)
- Gatineau, Que. 7.4 per cent (7.6)
- Ottawa 7.4 per cent (7.3)
- Kingston, Ont. 6.2 per cent (5.6)
- Belleville-Quinte West, Ont. 10.6 per cent (8.8)
- Peterborough, Ont. 6.6 per cent (6.0)
- Oshawa, Ont. 8.5 per cent (8.6)
- Toronto 8.1 per cent (8.4)
- Hamilton, Ont. 7.3 per cent (7.3)
- St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. 6.9 per cent (6.6)
- Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ont. 8.2 per cent (7.8)
- Brantford, Ont. 9.3 per cent (9.0)
- Guelph, Ont. 7.9 per cent (8.3)
- London, Ont. 7.6 per cent (7.0)
- Windsor, Ont. 7.7 per cent (8.1)
- Barrie, Ont. 8.5 per cent (8.4)
- Greater Sudbury, Ont. 6.7 per cent (6.6)
- Thunder Bay, Ont. 4.6 per cent (4.8)
- Winnipeg 6.3 per cent (6.4)
- Regina 6.8 per cent (6.8)
- Saskatoon 6.2 per cent (5.7)
- Lethbridge, Alta. 7.7 per cent (8.0)
- Calgary 6.8 per cent (7.3)
- Red Deer, Alta. 8.9 per cent (8.7)
- Edmonton 7.5 per cent (7.7)
- Kelowna, B.C. 8.6 per cent (11.0)
- Kamloops, B.C. 7.5 per cent (8.8)
- Chilliwack, B.C. 7.4 per cent (7.0)
- Abbotsford-Mission, B.C. 6.9 per cent (7.2)
- Vancouver 6.3 per cent (6.2)
- Victoria 4.3 per cent (4.1)
- Nanaimo, B.C. 6.7 per cent (6.6)
With files from the Canadian Press
