Canada Labor Market—-November 2025
STATUS: Unexpected Labour Market Strengthening as unemployment rate drops 40 bps
- Unemployment Rate: 6.5%
- Total Jobs Added MoM: +54,000
- Part-Time Jobs Added MoM: +63,000
Unemployment rate drops to 6.5%
Canada’s unemployment rate dropped substantially and unexpectedly to 6.5% in November, from 6.9% in the prior month, showing signs of a much-needed resiliency in the North American economy.
Latest Data
| Metric | November 2025 | Prior Month (Oct 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment Rate | 6.5% | 6.9% |
| Total Employment Change | +53,600 | +66,600 |
| Part-Time Employment Change | +63,000 | +85,100 |
| Full-Time Employment Change | -9,400 | -18,500 |
| Job Finding Rate | 19.6% | 19.8% |
Surprise labour market recovery
A 40 basis point (bps) drop in the unemployment rate is substantial. Looking at data since 2001, an improvement of this magnitude has not happened outside the period of COVID distortions seen between from 2020 and mid-2022.
The strengthening of the labor market is best illustrated by the employment growth readings, which now show three consecutive months of job growth. In November, Canada recorded a gain of 54,000 jobs, following increases of 60,400 and 66,600 in September and October, respectively.
The Part-Time/Full-Time Divergence
However, the details offered some caution. For two months in a row all the employment increases came from part-time jobs (63,000 in November and 85,100 in October ); if we look at full time jobs, a combined 27,900 jobs were lost in the last two months.
The StatCan in its press release provided some contexts to ease some of the worries that the recent surge in part-time employment is a sign of economic distress. The percentage of part-time employment deemed “involuntary”, defined as the decision to work part-time due to economic or business conditions or an inability to find full-time work, was 17.9% in November.
- That is just slightly higher than the 17.6% reading in Nov 2024; and,
- lower than the average for the Novembers from 2017 to 2019 (19.3%).
Another important figure StatCan emphasized is the job finding rate, which was 19.6% in November, which was higher than the 18.6% a year earlier and similar to figure reported in September (19.8%).
Health care the biggest job creator
In terms of industry breakdown, health care and social assistance is the biggest job creator in November, adding 45,500 jobs in the month, a rebound from October’s 7,200 drop.
Wholesale and retail trade, on the other hand, lost 34,100 jobs, after it gained 40,700 in the previous month. Manufacturing also cut 9,300 workers after a combined 36,500 job creation in the previous two months.
Previous Analysis
Aug 2025: Canada Unemployment Rate Surges To 7.1%
The unemployment rate in Canada has risen to 7.1% in August, the highest level since May 2016 outside of the pandemic era
