Canada's job market holds steady in June: StatCan

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Canada's job market holds steady in June: StatCan

Unemployment edges lower, youth employment rebounds — but economists say old rules for reading jobs report no longer apply



By Louise Smith
Jul 10, 2026

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Canada's labour market held its ground in June as hiring remained modest, the unemployment rate ticked down for a second straight month and young workers posted their strongest gains of the summer, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

The June Labour Force Survey shows employment rising by 18,000 (+0.1%), building on a strong gain of 88,000 in May. The national unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 6.5% — matching the rate last observed in January — while the employment rate nudged up to 60.8%.

The results suggest the labour market is stabilizing after a turbulent spring, with the unemployment rate now down 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier and job-finding conditions clearly improving. Statistics Canada reports the job-finding rate — the share of unemployed people who secured work between May and June — was 24.3%, up from 21.3% over the same period in 2025. The layoff rate, meanwhile, remained steady at 0.6%, in line with pre-pandemic averages.

However, a new report from TD Economics adds important context to June's modest hiring numbers. Published July 8, economists Marc Ercolao and Matt Palucci argue that Canada's "breakeven" pace of job creation — the monthly hiring needed just to hold the unemployment rate steady — has fallen close to zero as immigration policy tightens and population growth stalls.

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From the source, Statistics Canada:

Labour Force Survey, June 2026

Released: 2026-07-10

Highlights
Employment was little changed in June (+18,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%.

Employment was up among youth (15 to 24 years old) (+33,000; +1.2%) and among core-aged people (25 to 54 years old) (+33,000; 0.2%), while it fell among those aged 55 and older (-47,000; -1.1%).

In June, the youth unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage points to 12.7%. The unemployment rate held steady for women (5.5%) and men (5.7%) in the core working age. For people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.2%.

Employment increased in accommodation and food services (+15,000; +1.2%) while it decreased in manufacturing (-17,000; -0.9%), agriculture (-7,600; -3.3%), and utilities (-7,300; -4.3%).

Employment rose in Nova Scotia (+4,800; +0.9%) and Saskatchewan (+2,900; +0.5%) and was little changed in the remaining provinces.

Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.3% (+$1.19 to $37.20) on a year-over-year basis in June, following growth of 3.0% in May (not seasonally adjusted).

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Next release
The next release of the LFS will be on August 7, 2026. July 2026 data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of July 12 to 18.