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Labour Force Survey · October 2026 · Released Nov. 6
Canada's job market stalls as more people go looking for work
Employment barely moved in October, slipping by 4,700. But 33,000 more people started searching for a job, and that pushed the jobless rate up for a second straight month.
6.7%
Up 0.2 points from September
National unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted
Picture 100 workers
About 7 in every 100 people in the labour force are out of work
That's 1,507,700 Canadians who are unemployed and searching for a job, up 32,800 from September. The employment rate slipped to 60.5%, its third monthly decline in a row.
21,100,100People workingDown 4,700 in October (0.0%)
60.5%Employment rateDown 0.1 points; 0.3 points lower than a year ago
64.8%Participation rateUnchanged from September
Red = unemployed. The seventh figure is 70% filled for the 0.7.
Who felt it
Young people took the biggest hit
Youth unemployment jumped 0.7 points to 13.7% as employment edged down and more young people looked for work. Core-aged workers held steady. Bars show September (grey) against October.
Province by province
Alberta's jobless rate leaps; Quebec's drops
Alberta lost 24,000 jobs and its unemployment rate rose 0.9 points to 7.3%, now tied with Ontario. Newfoundland and Labrador still has the highest rate, though it fell. Hover or tap a province; flip between months to watch the map change.
Below national rateAboveTerritories not included in the survey's national estimates
Black tick marks the national rate of 6.7%.
Alberta −24,000 jobs
Erasing September's gain of 23,000. Unemployment rose to 7.3%, up 0.9 points.
B.C. +12,000 jobs
A rebound after losing 20,000 in September. Unemployment steady at 6.3%.
Ontario at 7.3%
Employment flat for a third month; the rate climbed 0.3 points as more people searched for work.
City by city
From Kelowna's 9.6% to Thunder Bay's 3.6%
Jobless rates for 42 metro areas, as three-month moving averages. Big circles mean high unemployment. Zoom into the Windsor–Quebec City corridor, where most of these cities sit, or pick a city to see how it compares.
Below 6.7%Above 6.7%
Statistics Canada cautions that city rates can swing widely because they rest on small samples.
Industries
Shops shed jobs while builders and schools hired
Private-sector employees fell by 53,000, the first drop since February. Public-sector employees rose by 50,000 after four straight months of declines.
−29,000
Wholesale and retail trade
Down 1.0% in the month. The industry has lost 113,000 jobs over the past year, mostly in Ontario, Quebec and B.C.
Year over year: −113,000 (−3.7%)
+16,000
Construction
Up 0.9% after two flat months, and the strongest year among these three industries.
Year over year: +47,000 (+2.9%)
+15,000
Educational services
Up 1.0%, partly offsetting September's loss of 35,000.
Year over year: −48,000 (−3.0%)Inside the numbers
Finding work is slower, and searches last longer
18.9%
Job-finding rate
Just under 1 in 5 people who were unemployed in September had a job by October.
23.7%
Long-term unemployed
Nearly a quarter of the 1.5 million unemployed have been searching for 27 weeks or more. It's worst for people 55 and older.
$37.89
Average hourly wage
Up 2.2% (+$0.83) from a year earlier, a touch slower than September's 2.3% gain.
Layoff rate
Share of people employed in September who were laid off by October.
In the spotlight
More households are stretched, and 6 in 10 workers love their jobs
29.7%
Live in a household struggling to cover basics
Housing, food, transportation and clothing. Up 2.0 points from a year ago, the first rise since 2022. Southern Ontario cities lead among the 15 largest metro areas.
Single-parent households fare worst: 47.2% of core-aged people in them reported difficulty.
60.9%
Of workers are very satisfied with their job
They rated it 8, 9 or 10 out of 10. Satisfaction grows with age, and is lowest in sales and service jobs, which also pay the least ($24.19 an hour on average).
HR News Canada is an independent source of workplace news for human resources professionals, managers, and business leaders. Published by North Wall Media.
