Canada’s unemployment ‌rate rose to a six-month high of 6.9 per cent in April as the economy lost 18,000 jobs, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday, indicating a continued weakness in the labour market which has struggled in the ​face of U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty.
While Canada has added 67,000 jobs since April 2025, since the start of this year it has lost a cumulative 112,000.
Last month’s loss means Canada has lost jobs in three out of the four months so far this year, showing a rocky start for the labour market in 2026, according to CIBC economist Andrew Grantham.
The drop was concentrated in full-time jobs, which lost a net of ‌46,700 people, offset only by a gain of 29,000 jobs in the part-time sector.

The net overall decline in employment over the first four months of 2026 was also concentrated in full-time work, which fell by 111,000 between January and April, according to StatsCan.
Average ​hourly wages of permanent employees, a metric closely tracked by the Bank of Canada to gauge rise in inflation expectations, grew 4.8 per cent ⁠from a year earlier, versus 5.1 per cent in March.

The participation rate — the portion of the population ⁠over the age of 15 that is economically active — edged up to 65 per cent in April from 64.9 per cent ⁠in ⁠the prior month, StatsCan said.
A ​higher participation rate along with a higher unemployment rate indicates more people were searching for work.