Canada Unemployment Rate1966-2021 Data | 2022-2023 Forecast | Calendar | Historical

The unemployment rate in Canada fell to 7.8% in June of 2021 from 8.2% in May, slightly higher than forecasts of 7.7%. Most regions in the country began lifting coronavirus restrictions in June. Most indoor and outdoor dining, recreation and cultural activities, retail shopping, and personal care services had resumed or continued in eight provinces, with varying degrees of capacity restrictions. The total number of unemployed fell by 61,000, the number of people in the labour force increased by 170,000 and the labour force participation rate increased 0.6 percentage points to 65.2%.

The unemployment rate in Canada increased to 8.2 percent in May of 2021 from 8.1 in the previous month, in line with market expectations. Employment fell by 68,000 (-0.4%), with almost all of the decline in part-time work (-54,000; -1.6%). The unemployment rate among visible minority Canadians aged 15 to 69 rose 1.5 percentage points to 11.4% (not seasonally adjusted). Long-term unemployment, the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more, held relatively steady at 478,000. The labor force participation rate decreased to 64.6 percent from 64.9 percent in the previous month, the lowest since August 2020. Meantime, the youth unemployment rate fell to 15.9 percent in May from 16.1 percent in the previous month.

The unemployment rate in Canada rose to 8.1 percent in April of 2021 from 7.5 percent in the previous month, above market expectations of 7.8 percent, driven by increases in the number of people searching for work (+67,000; +4.9%) and those on temporary layoff (+57,000; +37.6%). With the exception of up-ticks in December, January and April, the unemployment rate has trended downward from its peak of 13.7% in May 2020. The youth unemployment rate climbed to 16.1 percent in April from 14 percent in the previous month. Meantime, the labor force participation rate decreased to 64.9 percent from 65.2 percent in the previous month.

The unemployment rate in Canada declined for the second consecutive month in March of 2021, falling 0.7 percentage points to 7.5 percent, the lowest since February 2020 and well below market expectations of 8 percent. This reflected strong employment growth that exceeded the number of people entering the labour market. The number of people unemployed fell 148,000 (-8.9%) in March, with the majority (59.0%) of people leaving unemployment becoming employed. Despite sharp reductions in both February and March, the number of people unemployed stood at 1.5 million, up 371,000 (+32.4%) compared with February 2020. Looking ahead, restrictions have been tightened in a number of jurisdictions across Canada, including in British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario, where "circuit breaker" lockdowns of various degrees have been implemented in recent weeks and are likely to impact the next labour market release on May 7th.