Employment edged down in January (-25,000; -0.1%) and the employment rate decreased 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to 6.5%, as fewer people searched for work, according to a report released Friday by Statistics Canada.

In January, employment fell by 27,000 (-0.4%) among core-aged women (25 to 54 years old). There was little employment change among the other major demographic groups, said the federal agency.

“Fewer people were employed in manufacturing (-28,000; -1.5%), educational services (-24,000; -1.5%) and public administration (-10,000; -0.8%). At the same time, employment increased in information, culture and recreation (+17,000; +2.0%), business, building and other support services (+14,000; +2.1%), agriculture (+11,000; +4.5%) and utilities (+4,200; +2.5%),” it said.

“Employment decreased in Ontario (-67,000; -0.8%), while it rose in Alberta (+20,000; +0.8%), Saskatchewan (+6,100; +1.0%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+3,800; +1.6%). There was little change in the other provinces.

“Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.3% (+$1.18 to $37.17) on a year-over-year basis in January, following growth of 3.4% in December (not seasonally adjusted).”

Employment edges down in January

In January, a decrease in part-time employment (-70,000; -1.8%) was partly offset by a gain in full-time work (+45,000; +0.3%). Compared with 12 months earlier, overall employment was up by 134,000 (+0.6%), driven by gains in full-time work (+149,000; +0.9%), said Statistics Canada.

“The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed—fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. This was the first decline in the employment rate since August 2025,” it said.

“The number of private sector employees fell by 52,000 (-0.4%) in January, partly offsetting a net increase of 128,000 (+0.9%) in the last three months of 2025. There was little change in the number of public sector employees (+13,000; +0.3%) and self-employed workers (+14,000; +0.5%) in January.”

Canada's Entrepreneur

Unemployment rate falls to 6.5%, as fewer people search for work

The unemployment rate fell by 0.3 percentage points to 6.5% in January, driven by a decline in the number of people searching for work (-94,000; -6.1%). The unemployment rate in January was the lowest since September 2024 and was down 0.6 percentage points from the recent high of 7.1% recorded in August and September 2025, explained the federal agency.

“The labour force participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—decreased 0.4 percentage points to 65.0% in January, following an increase of 0.2 percentage points in December. The decline in January was concentrated in Ontario,” it said.

Unemployment rate by province and territory, January 2026

Mario Toneguzzi

Mario Toneguzzi isManaging 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.About Us

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