Canada Posts Small Jobs Gain in March, as Expected

08:51 AM EDT, 04/10/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Canada's employment was little changed in March, up 14,000 or 0.1% month over month, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%, said the country's statistical agency in Friday's Labour Force Survey (LFS).

The job increases were in line with a forecast 14,500 increase and 6.7% unemployement rate provided by MUFG.

Across the major age groups, employment held steady and the unemployment rate was little changed, noted Statistics Canada in a statement.

Employment rose in the 'other services' industry, which includes repair and maintenance services, by 15,000 and 1.9% month over month, and it also increased in natural resources, up 10,000 and 3.0% month over month. Employment declined in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing, or down 11,000 and 0.8%.

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, added StatsCan.

Recent increases in average hourly wages were partly due to a shift in the composition of employment. Using a method that holds constant the composition of employees by occupation and job tenure, average hourly wages grew by 3.6% on a year-over-year basis in March, similar to the rate of growth observed in January (+3.6%) and February 2025 (+3.5%), stated the Ottawa-based agency.

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 labor force participation rate was down 0.4 percentage point.

The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.

LFS estimates at the Canada level do not include the territories. The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labor market indicators released by StatsCan, which includes indicators from programs such as the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH); Employment Insurance Statistics; and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey.

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