Employment was little changed in April (+7,400; +0.0%) and the employment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%.
In April, employment fell among core-aged (25 to 54 years old) women (-60,000; -0.9%), while it increased among people aged 55 years and older (+35,000; +0.8%) and core-aged men (+24,000; +0.3%).
In April, employment fell in manufacturing (-31,000; -1.6%) and in wholesale and retail trade (-27,000; -0.9%). Employment increased in public administration (+37,000; +3.0%), coinciding with the hiring of temporary workers for activities related to the recent federal election. Employment also increased in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+24,000; +1.6%).
Employment declined in Ontario (-35,000; -0.4%) and Nova Scotia (-8,500; -1.6%), while it rose in Quebec (+18,000; +0.4%), Alberta (+15,000; +0.6%), Manitoba (+5,700; +0.8%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (+3,800; +1.6%). Employment was little changed in the other provinces.
Total hours worked increased 0.4% in April and were up 0.9% compared with 12 months earlier.
Average hourly wages among employees increased 3.4% (+$1.20 to $36.13) on a year-over-year basis in April, following growth of 3.6% in March (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment holds steady in April
Overall employment was little changed in April (+7,400; +0.0%), following a decline in March (-33,000; -0.2%) and virtually no change in February.
Following a decline of 0.2 percentage points in March, the employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—fell a further 0.1 percentage points in April. This brought the employment rate to 60.8%, matching a recent low recorded in October 2024.
The employment rate trended down for most of 2023 and 2024, as population growth outpaced employment gains. More recently, the employment rate had increased for three consecutive months from November 2024 to January 2025, driven by strong employment gains amid slower population growth.
Employment in the public sector increased by 23,000 (+0.5%) in April, following three consecutive months of little change. Public sector employment growth in April was associated with temporary hiring for the federal election.
The number of employees in the private sector was little changed in April, following a decline in March (-48,000; -0.3%). Self-employment was little changed for a third consecutive month in April.
Employment falls among core-aged women
Employment among core-aged (25 to 54 years old) women fell by 60,000 (-0.9%) in April, offsetting a similar-sized net increase recorded from December 2024 to February 2025 (+62,000; +1.0%). The employment decline in April was concentrated in part-time work (-41,000; -3.9%). As a result, the employment rate of core-aged women fell 0.9 percentage points to 79.6% in April 2025.
Among core-aged men, employment increased by 24,000 (+0.3%) in April, following two months of little change. The employment rate of core-aged men rose 0.2 percentage points in April to 86.5%, partly offsetting the 0.4 percentage point decline recorded in the previous month.
Employment rose for people aged 55 and older (+35,000; +0.8%) in April, with increases for both women (+19,000; +1.0%) and men (+16,000; +0.7%). The employment rate also rose both for women (+0.2 percentage points to 29.7%) and men (+0.2 percentage points to 39.0%) in this age group in April.
Unemployment rate rises to 6.9%
The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.9% in April, following an increase of 0.1 percentage points in March. With these increases, the unemployment rate has returned to its level of November 2024, which was the highest since January 2017 (excluding the years 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic).
The number of unemployed people—those looking for work or on temporary layoff—increased by 39,000 (+2.6%) in April and was up by 189,000 (+13.9%) on a year-over-year basis.
People who were unemployed continued to face more difficulties finding work in April than a year earlier. Among those who were unemployed in March, 61.0% remained unemployed in April, higher than the corresponding proportion for the same months in 2024 (57.3%) (not seasonally adjusted).
The share of workers being laid off may increase during periods of economic downturn or disruption. Among those who were employed in March 2025, 0.7% had become unemployed in April due to a layoff. This proportion was little changed from the same period in 2024 (0.6%) (not seasonally adjusted).
There were more people in the labour force in April, and the participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—increased by 0.1 percentage points to 65.3%. Despite the increase in the month, the participation rate was down 0.4 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
Unemployment rate up among young men and core-aged women
The unemployment rate increased among young men aged 15 to 24 (+1.1 percentage points to 15.4%) in April. Although employment held steady, more young men searched for work in the month, which drove the unemployment rate up for this group.
The unemployment rate of core-aged women (25 to 54 years old) increased 0.4 percentage points to 5.8% in April, as employment fell among women in this age group. For core-aged men, the unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 5.8% in April.
On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was up for both core-aged women (+0.8 percentage points) and core-aged men (+0.4 percentage points) in April.
Employment in manufacturing declines
Employment fell in manufacturing (-31,000; -1.6%) in April, as the industry continues to face uncertainty related to tariffs on exports to the United States. Ontario posted the largest decline (-33,000; -3.9%) in this industry among the provinces. This was the first significant decline for manufacturing employment at the national level since November 2024. Despite the decline in the month, employment in manufacturing was little changed on a year-over-year basis in April.
Employment in wholesale and retail trade declined by 27,000 (-0.9%) in April, following a similar sized decline in March (-29,000; -1.0%). The decline over the two months offset the strong gain recorded in February. On a year-over-year basis, employment in wholesale and retail trade was little changed in April.
Employment rose in public administration (+37,000; +3.0%) in April, the first significant increase for the sector since July 2024. The increase was mostly in temporary work and coincided with activities associated with the federal election. Advanced polling took place from April 18 to April 21 and the election was held on April 28. The Labour Force Survey (LFS) reference week was April 13 to April 19.
In finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing, employment increased by 24,000 (+1.6%) in April, continuing an upward trend from October 2024, with cumulative gains during this period totalling 67,000 (+4.7%).
Employment falls in Ontario while it increases in Quebec and Alberta
Employment in Ontario fell by 35,000 (-0.4%) in April, following a decline of 28,000 in March. Manufacturing (-33,000; -3.9%) and wholesale and retail trade (-16,000; -1.4%) recorded the largest declines in the province in April. The unemployment rate in Ontario rose by 0.3 percentage points in April to 7.8%.
In the Windsor census metropolitan area (CMA), where automotive industries account for 43.1% of manufacturing employment and 9.2% of total employment, the unemployment rate increased by 1.4 percentage points in April to reach 10.7% (three-month moving averages). In the Toronto CMA, the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.6% in April.
In Quebec, employment increased by 18,000 (+0.4%) in April, the first significant increase since November 2024. Despite more people employed in the month, there were also more people looking for work (+17,000), pushing the unemployment rate up by 0.3 percentage points to 6.0%. This was the highest unemployment rate for the province since October 2017 (6.1%), excluding the years 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic.
Employment in Alberta increased by 15,000 (+0.6%) in April, offsetting a decline in March. Despite the employment gain, the unemployment rate in Alberta remained at 7.1% in April.
