Workers at Suncor Mine. Image via Suncor.com
Canada added 60,000 jobs in September, far exceeding expectations of a 5,000 gain, with manufacturing leading the increase. Statistics Canada says the unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 per cent. Full-time employment rose by 106,000, offsetting a drop in part-time jobs. Employment remains only slightly higher so far in 2025, with a net gain of 22,000 positions as U.S. tariffs continue to weigh on key industries.
Manufacturing recorded its first monthly job growth since January, adding 28,000 positions after earlier losses of 58,000. Health care, social assistance and agriculture also added jobs. Wholesale and retail trade shed 21,000 positions but remains up 61,000 year over year, while transportation and construction declined.
Alberta led provincial job growth with 42,500 new positions, marking its largest non-pandemic monthly increase on record. Average hourly wages rose 3.3 per cent from a year earlier. Youth unemployment climbed to 14.7 per cent, a 15-year high outside the pandemic, while the rate for students reached 17.1 per cent.
The report comes ahead of the Bank of Canada’s Oct. 29 rate decision following a quarter-point cut last month to 2.5 per cent.
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