Employment and unemployment rates hold steady in March: Statistics Canada

Employment was little changed in March (+14,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate held steady at 60.6%. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%. Across the major age groups, employment held steady and the unemployment rate was little changed, according to a report released Friday by Statistics Canada.

Employment rose in the ‘other services’ industry (+15,000; +1.9%), which includes personal and repair services, and it also increased in natural resources (+10,000; +3.0%). Employment declined in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing (-11,000; -0.8%), said the federal agency.

Fewer people were employed in British Columbia (-19,000; -0.7%), while employment rose in Manitoba (+11,000; +1.5%), Saskatchewan (+5,800; +0.9%) and Nova Scotia (+3,900; +0.7%). Average hourly wages among employees increased 4.7% (+$1.68 to $37.73) on a year-over-year basis in March, following growth of 3.9% in February (not seasonally adjusted), it said.

“On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 87,000 (+0.4%) in March, largely reflecting gains over the final four months of 2025,” explained Statistics Canada.

“The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—was unchanged at 60.6% in March, following a cumulative decline of 0.3 percentage points in January and February. The employment rate in March was just above the recent low of 60.5% recorded in August 2025 and was down 0.3 percentage points year over year.”

In March, there was little variation in the number of public and private sector employees as well as in the number of self-employed workers. On a year-over-year basis, the number of employees grew at a faster pace in the public sector (+1.2%) than in the private sector (+0.6%), it noted.

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The unemployment rate was unchanged in March at 6.7%, following a 0.2 percentage point increase in February. The unemployment rate was below the peak of 7.1% recorded in August and September 2025, and was little changed on a year-over-year basis. In comparison, the unemployment rate averaged 6.0% from 2017 to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Statistics Canada.

“The layoff rate—representing the proportion of people who were employed in February but had become unemployed in March as a result of a layoff—was 0.6%, comparable with the corresponding proportion from 12 months earlier (0.7%) and with the pre-pandemic average (0.7%) for the corresponding months from 2017 to 2019 (not seasonally adjusted),” it said.

“Among people who were unemployed in February, 15.2% found work in March. This was similar to the rate recorded in the same months in 2025 (14.7%) but was below the pre-pandemic average of 19.1% for the same months from 2017 to 2019 (not seasonally adjusted). This indicates that higher unemployment rates relative to the pre-pandemic period continue to be mostly driven by slower hirings, rather than by increased layoffs.

“The participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—was unchanged at 64.9%. On a year-over-year basis, the labour force participation rate was down 0.4 percentage points.”

Andrew Hencic, Senior Economist, TD, said: “The labour report came in as expected, showcasing the lack of dynamism in the Canadian labour market. The unemployment rate remains elevated, with the lack of hiring showcasing the general apprehension in the economy. With the economy continuing to progress in fits and starts, and uncertainty sky-high, the outlook is for subdued job growth and a steady unemployment rate.

“The outlook remains fraught, with the energy shock beginning to be felt in the economy, and no clarity on the direction of the conflict. How long the conflict lasts and energy supplies remain disrupted, will determine the size of the inflation shock. For now, weak demand conditions should provide some offset to inflationary pass-through, allowing the Bank of Canada to stay on the sidelines and wait to see how things play out.”

Mario Toneguzzi

Mario Toneguzzi is Managing Editor of Canada’s Entrepreneur. He has more than 40 years of experience as a daily newspaper writer, columnist, and editor. He was named in 2021 and 2024 as one of the top business journalists in the world by PR News. He was also named by RETHINK to its global list of Top Retail Experts 2024, 2025 and 2026.

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