Canada employment data for March 2026
Canada added 14,100 jobs in March while the unemployment rate held at 6.7%, according to Statistics Canada’s monthly Labour Force Survey released on April 10. The increase was modest and only partly reversed the losses seen earlier in the year, after employment fell by a combined 109,000 in January and February.
Statistics Canada described employment as little changed in March. The employment rate, which measures the share of the population aged 15 and over that is employed, stayed at 60.6%. The participation rate, which measures the share of people either working or actively looking for work, also held steady at 64.9%.
Sectors that drove Canada job growth
The strongest monthly gains came from other services, a category that includes personal and repair services, where employment rose by 15,000 or 1.9%. Natural resources also posted a solid increase, with employment up by 10,000 or 3.0%, and nearly half of that gain came from Alberta.
By contrast, employment in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing fell by 11,000, or 0.8%. Statistics Canada said that was the first significant monthly decline in that category since November 2023.
Health care and social assistance was broadly flat on the month, but it posted the largest year-over-year increase of any major industry, up 94,000 jobs or 3.3% from March 2025. Manufacturing recorded the largest annual decline, with employment down 44,000 or 2.4% from a year earlier.
Canada unemployment rate stays at 6.7%
A steady headline unemployment rate did not mean conditions improved across all demographic groups. Youth unemployment for people aged 15 to 24 stood at 13.8% in March, far above the national rate. For people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate was 4.9%. Among core-aged workers aged 25 to 54, the rate was 5.8% for both men and women.
On a year-over-year basis, total employment was up by 87,000, or 0.4%, largely reflecting gains recorded in the final four months of 2025. Even so, the employment rate in March remained only slightly above the recent low of 60.5% seen in August 2025, underscoring the weak underlying pace of labor-market recovery.
Provincial labor market trends in Canada
British Columbia posted the clearest deterioration. Employment fell by 19,000 in March after a similar decline in February, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.6 percentage point to 6.7%. Statistics Canada said that was the province’s highest unemployment rate since February 2016, excluding the pandemic years 2020 and 2021.
Conditions were firmer in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. Manitoba added 11,000 jobs and its unemployment rate held at 5.6%. Saskatchewan gained 5,800 jobs and posted the lowest provincial unemployment rate in Canada at 5.0%, down 0.6 percentage point on the month. Nova Scotia added 3,900 jobs and its unemployment rate fell to 6.6%.
Ontario saw employment hold steady for a second straight month after losing 67,000 jobs in January. The province’s unemployment rate remained at 7.6%. Statistics Canada said southern Ontario continued to face difficult labor-market conditions amid economic uncertainty linked to tariffs on exports to the United States. Among Canada’s 20 largest census metropolitan areas, the highest unemployment rates were in London, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Windsor, Barrie and Toronto. Toronto’s three-month moving average was 8.1%.
Quebec also saw employment stabilize after a sharp February decline, while its unemployment rate fell by 0.5 percentage point to 5.4% as fewer people searched for work. In the Quebec City metropolitan area, the unemployment rate stood at 2.6%, the lowest among the country’s 20 largest metropolitan areas.
Wage growth in Canada accelerates
Average hourly wages among employees rose 4.7% from a year earlier in March, up C$1.68 to C$37.73 an hour. Statistics Canada said that was the fastest annual wage growth since October 2024, following a 3.9% increase in February.
Wage growth was strongest among employees aged 55 and older at 5.2%, while younger workers aged 15 to 24 saw a much smaller 1.8% increase. For core-aged employees, average hourly wages rose 4.5% from a year earlier. The agency also noted that part of the acceleration reflected shifts in the composition of employment, and a composition-adjusted measure showed annual wage growth of 3.6%.
What the March 2026 report means for Canada’s economy
The March report suggested that Canada’s labor market stopped deteriorating at the pace seen in February, but it did not yet show broad-based recovery. Bloomberg described the increase as modest and broadly in line with expectations. Statistics Canada said the next Labour Force Survey release is due on May 8, 2026, and the April data will reflect labor-market conditions during the week of April 12 to 18.
As International Investment experts report, the March figures point less to a rebound than to a pause in labor-market weakening. A small employment gain, flat unemployment and faster wage growth leave a mixed picture: the economy is not falling sharply, but it is not yet producing evidence of a broad and durable recovery. For investors, employers and migrants, that keeps attention focused on the next releases for jobs, inflation and the Bank of Canada.
FAQ: Canada jobs report March 2026
How many jobs did Canada add in March 2026?
Canada added 14,100 jobs in March, according to Statistics Canada.
What was Canada’s unemployment rate in March 2026?
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%.
Which sectors gained the most jobs?
Other services and natural resources posted the main gains, rising by 15,000 and 10,000 jobs respectively.
Which province looked weakest in the March data?
British Columbia looked weakest, with employment down 19,000 and unemployment up to 6.7%. Ontario also remained under pressure, with a provincial unemployment rate of 7.6% and several large metro areas showing elevated joblessness.
Why does wage growth matter in this report?
Because wage growth helps show how labor costs are evolving. Average hourly wages rose 4.7% year over year in March, the fastest pace since October 2024, making it an important signal for inflation and monetary-policy expectations.