Canada Unemployment RateJanuary 2023 Data - 1966-2022 Historical

The unemployment rate in Canada was at 5% in December of 2022, the lowest since the record-low of 4.9% in June and July, decreasing from 5.1% in the prior month and beating market estimates of 5.2%. The result signaled that the Canadian labor market remains stubbornly tight, adding tightening leeway for the Bank of Canada despite its latest signal that rate hikes should end soon. The number of unemployed individuals fell by 12.7 thousand to 1,036,900, driven by lower unemployment in core-aged men, while female unemployment and youth unemployment was relatively unchanged. In the meantime, the number of employed individuals rose by 104 thousand to 20,807,100, with notable increases in professional, scientific, and technical services (1.3% to 1,844,000) and construction (2.3% to 1,554,300). Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 65%.

The unemployment rate in Canada was at 5.1% in November of 2022, decreasing slightly from the 5.2% in the prior month and beating market estimates of 5.3%, signaling that the Canadian labor market remains tight. The number of unemployed individuals fell by 23.8 thousand to 1,049,000, largely due to lower joblessness for women aged lower than 24 years and men aged older than 50. Still, the number of individuals facing long-term unemployment was steady at 174,000. In the meantime, the number of employed individuals rose by 10.1 thousand to 19,114,000, especially among the core working ages. Employment grew in finance, insurance, and rental and leasing (+1.6% to 1,359,600), and information, culture, and recreation (+1.9% to 815,000), offsetting the decline for wholesale and retail trade (-0.8% to 2,863,900). Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 64.8%.

The unemployment rate in Canada was at 5.2% in October of 2022, unchanged from the prior month and beating market estimates of 5.3%, signaling that the Canadian labor market remains tight. The number of unemployed individuals was relatively unchanged from the prior month at 1,073,400. In the meantime, employment rose by 108,300 to 19,656,200, the sharpest increase since February and well above estimates of 10,000 jobs being added. At the industry level, increased employment for goods-producing industries (1.1% to 4,027,100) was supported by construction (1.6% to 1,534,000) and manufacturing (1.4% to 1,744,200), while higher employment for services producers (0.4% to 15,629,100) was supported by food and accommodation services (1.7% to 1,077,300). Also, employment rose both for the public sector (0.4% to 4,286,800) and the private sector (0.6% to 12,718,300). In the meantime, the labor force participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 64.9 percent.