Canada’s labour market posted its first significant employment gain in six months in May, adding 88,000 jobs and reversing much of the weakness seen earlier this year.
Statistics Canada said Friday the unemployment rate fell to 6.6 per cent in May, down from 6.9 per cent in April.
The increase defied expectations after the economy lost 112,000 jobs over the first four months of 2026.
The agency said May’s gain was the first significant increase in employment since November 2025. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up 147,000 jobs, or 0.7 per cent.
The employment rate, which measures the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are working, rose 0.2 percentage points to 60.7 per cent. It was the first increase in the employment rate since November 2025.
The gains were driven entirely by full-time work. Full-time employment rose by 154,000 in May, offsetting nearly all of the 156,000 full-time jobs lost between January and April.
Part-time employment fell by 66,000.
The number of private-sector employees rose by 56,000, while public-sector employment increased by 20,000. The number of self-employed workers was little changed.
British Columbia was among the provinces driving the national gains, adding 25,000 jobs in May.
The picture was mixed across B.C.’s major metropolitan areas, however, with unemployment rising in most of the province’s listed urban centres despite the province adding jobs overall.
Kelowna had the highest unemployment rate among the B.C. cities listed by Statistics Canada:
Statistics Canada said the increase partially offset the cumulative loss of 39,000 jobs recorded in B.C. in February and March.
Despite the job gains, B.C.’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.8 per cent in May.
The unemployment rate in the Vancouver census metropolitan area fell 0.6 percentage points to 6.4 per cent. Statistics Canada said the rate in Vancouver was virtually unchanged compared with a year earlier.
Ontario saw the largest provincial employment gain, adding 42,000 jobs in May after also posting growth in April. The province has now added 84,000 jobs over the past two months.
Ontario’s unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to seven per cent, its lowest level since September 2024.
Alberta added 14,000 jobs in May, following three months of little change. Employment in Alberta was up 104,000 from a year earlier, the strongest year-over-year increase among the provinces.
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Alberta’s unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 6.6 per cent.
Prince Edward Island added 1,200 jobs and saw its unemployment rate fall to 6.7 per cent.
Saskatchewan was the lone province to record a notable employment decline, losing 6,100 jobs. Its unemployment rate rose to 6.2 per cent.
Quebec employment edged up by 13,000 after losing a net 91,000 jobs from January to April. The province’s unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 5.6 per cent, as fewer people searched for work.
The national unemployment rate remains above pre-pandemic norms. Statistics Canada said it has stayed above the 2017-to-2019 average of six per cent since spring 2024.
Still, more unemployed people found work in May. The agency said 26.3 per cent of people who were unemployed in April found a job in May, up from the same period a year earlier but still below the pre-pandemic average of 31.5 per cent.
The layoff rate remained stable at 0.6 per cent, in line with pre-pandemic levels.
Employment increased across several major industries.
Construction led the gains, adding 27,000 jobs, followed by information, culture and recreation, which added 19,000.
Transportation and warehousing also added 19,000 jobs, while accommodation and food services added 17,000.
Manufacturing employment rose by 15,000 in May, though the sector remains down 44,000 jobs compared with January 2025. Statistics Canada said manufacturing has faced heightened uncertainty since early 2025 because of U.S. tariff policies.
Wholesale and retail trade moved in the opposite direction, losing 35,000 jobs. Employment in the sector has been trending down since October 2025 and was down 64,000 compared with a year earlier.
Employment rose among several demographic groups.
Core-aged women, aged 25 to 54, added 31,000 jobs, all of them in full-time work. Their unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 5.5 per cent.
Core-aged men added 25,000 jobs, and their unemployment rate also fell 0.4 percentage points, to 5.7 per cent.
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Youth employment rose by 22,000, while the youth unemployment rate fell 0.9 percentage points to 13.4 per cent.
Statistics Canada said it was the first decline in the youth unemployment rate since January, though the rate remains well above the pre-pandemic average of 10.8 per cent.
The number of young people working full time rose by 99,000 in May, offsetting a similar decline over the previous four months. Youth part-time employment fell by 76,000.
May also marks the start of the summer job season for students.
The unemployment rate among returning students aged 15 to 24 was 18 per cent in May, down from 20.1 per cent in May 2025. Last year, returning students faced the slowest start to the summer job market since 2009, excluding the pandemic years.
Statistics Canada said the largest share of employed returning students worked in retail trade, at 28.4 per cent. Another 23 per cent worked in accommodation and food services, up from a year earlier.
Average hourly wages rose three per cent year over year in May to $37.24.
That marked a slowdown from April, when wages were up 4.5 per cent on a year-over-year basis.
Among the country’s largest metro areas, the unemployment rate fell in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Toronto’s unemployment rate dropped 1.1 percentage points to 6.8 per cent, the lowest level since November 2023.
The rate in Montreal fell 1.2 percentage points to 6.5 per cent, largely offsetting the increase recorded in April.
Vancouver’s rate fell to 6.4 per cent.
The report also showed remote work continuing to decline.
Statistics Canada said 78.8 per cent of employed Canadians worked exclusively outside the home in May, up from 77.6 per cent a year earlier and 75 per cent in May 2022.
The proportion working exclusively from home fell to 11.4 per cent, down from 12.4 per cent in May 2025 and 18.7 per cent in May 2022.
Hybrid work has remained relatively stable, with 9.8 per cent of workers splitting time between home and another work location in May.
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