Canada’s job market surprised to the upside in September, adding roughly 60,000 positions and holding the unemployment rate at 7.1%.
The two weak months and nudges the employment rate to 60.6%, a small improvement that nonetheless leaves overall labor-market momentum softer than earlier in the year.
The report offers a clearer read on sector and regional pockets of strength, which matter for wage pressures and the policy path ahead, according to the federal Labour Force Survey.
Full-time employment jumped by 106,000, more than offsetting a 46,000 decline in part-time roles.
Hiring tilted modestly toward the public sector, which grew by 31,000, while private-sector payrolls rose by 22,000 and self-employment increased by about 7,900. Average hourly wages grew 3.3% from a year earlier to $36.78.
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These figures come from Statistics Canada’s September Labour Force Survey, which provides the most detailed snapshot of jobs, wages, and participation by industry and region, and is the benchmark investors use to track the employment cycle.
Manufacturing led the rebound with a 28,000 increase in payrolls, the sector’s first monthly gain since January, with most of the lift coming from Ontario and Alberta.
Health care and social assistance added 14,000 jobs, while agriculture grew by 13,000. Offsetting some of that strength, wholesale and retail trade shed 21,000 jobs in September.
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The mix points to stabilization in goods producing industries after a difficult summer, alongside steady demand for care-economy roles that have anchored hiring through the cycle.
Alberta posted the largest monthly improvement, adding 43,000 jobs as its unemployment rate edged down to 7.8%.
Ontario was little changed on the month, and Quebec’s jobless rate eased to 5.7%from a recent peak in June. Youth unemployment edged up to 14.7%, the highest since 2010 outside the pandemic years, a reminder that slack is not evenly distributed.
A 3.3% year over year pace in average hourly pay is slower than earlier peaks but still above pre-pandemic norms, which will feed into debates about how quickly inflation can return to the Bank of Canada 2% inflation goal.
The bias toward full time hiring implies stronger hours worked and income support into the fourth quarter, though the drag in retail and wholesale suggests consumer facing demand is still uneven.
Early this month, five provinces lift minimum wage, while Alberta holds line on 15 minimum wage. Those shifts will interact with sector hiring patterns and could add mild support to wage growth even if overall job creation remains choppy.
