OTTAWA: Canada lost 84,000 jobs in February, the largest monthly decline in employment in nearly 17 years outside pandemic disruptions, while the unemployment rate rose to 6.7% from 6.5% in January, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey released Friday. The employment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 60.6%, marking a second straight monthly decline. The February setback came after a 25,000 drop in January, reversing part of the job gains recorded late last year.
The pullback was concentrated in full-time work, which fell by 108,000, while part-time employment was little changed. Private-sector employment dropped by 73,000 for a second consecutive monthly decline, offsetting gains made in October and November 2025. Public-sector employment and self-employment were little changed. On a year-over-year basis, total employment was little changed, underscoring how the February contraction erased much of the momentum that had built through the end of 2025.
The downturn hit younger workers and core-aged men most sharply. Employment among people aged 15 to 24 fell by 47,000, pushing the youth unemployment rate up 1.3 percentage points to 14.1%. Employment among men aged 25 to 54 dropped by 41,000, while their unemployment rate rose to 5.7%. Statistics Canada said 1.5 million people were unemployed in February, and 22.8% of them had been searching for work continuously for at least 27 weeks.
Losses Spread Across Industries
Job losses were broad-based across the economy. Services-producing industries shed 56,000 positions and goods-producing industries lost 28,000. The largest decline in services came in wholesale and retail trade, where employment fell by 18,000, followed by a 14,000 drop in other services such as repair, personal care and laundry work. In the goods sector, construction lost 12,000 jobs and manufacturing fell by 9,200. Manufacturing employment was down 52,000 from a year earlier.
The provincial data showed the steepest decline in Quebec, where employment fell by 57,000, the first significant decrease there since January 2022, and the unemployment rate rose 0.7 percentage points to 5.9%. British Columbia lost 20,000 jobs, while Saskatchewan shed 5,500 and Manitoba lost 4,000. Newfoundland and Labrador added 2,100 jobs. In Ontario, employment was little changed, but the unemployment rate climbed to 7.6% as 28,000 more people searched for work.
Wages Rise Despite Hiring Slump
Average hourly wages for employees rose 3.9% from a year earlier, up $1.42 to $37.56 in February, after a 3.3% annual increase in January. The labour force participation rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 64.9%, leaving it 0.4 points below a year earlier. Among people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate fell to 4.9%, while employment for core-aged women was little changed and their unemployment rate held at 5.8%, showing the weakness was not evenly spread across all groups.
Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate in February was virtually unchanged from 6.6% a year earlier and remained below the recent high of 7.1% reached in August and September 2025. The February report followed a 25,000 employment decline in January and left the employment rate just above the 60.5% low reached in August 2025, while the participation rate stood at 64.9%, down 0.4 percentage points from a year earlier. – By Content Syndication Services.