New data from Stats Canada shows that the Canadian job market continues to suffer as unemployment hits a six-month high.The report from Stats Canada shows that in April Canada lost 18,000 jobs and posted a 6.9% unemployment rate, the highest rate since August 2025."In April, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.9%, as more people searched for work (+51,000; +3.4%). The unemployment rate has increased 0.4 percentage points since January 2026 but remained below the recent peak of 7.1% observed in August and September of 2025," the report reads.Most job loss was felt in the full-time sector, with a net loss of 47,000; this was slightly offset by a gain of 29,000 jobs in the part-time sector.Labour force participation grew slightly in April, with an increase of 0.1% to increase the total participation number to 65%..A concerning number in the report is the continued rise in the rate of youth unemployment that currently sits at 14.3%."The youth (15 to 24 years) unemployment rate rose by 0.5 percentage points to 14.3% in April, as employment varied little and the number of young people searching for work edged up," the report says.As the report states, this marks a 0.5% increase in April in youth unemployment, with the overall number being notably higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8%.The rate was even higher for students, sitting at 16% compared to 13.5% for non-students.Across the country, the provinces and territories that saw the most decline in unemployment numbers were Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Ontario, while Quebec, Yukon, and PEI all saw significant increases..The Canadian job market continues to suffer, especially for young people and students. The looming threat of CUSMA renegotiation and continued economic threats from the American administration will likely continue to hamper employment figures.According to previously published figures by Stats Canada, summer time is usually when Canada sees its biggest bump in employment figures, mainly due to students getting summer jobs and young people seeking part-time employment.Due to this, it should be expected to see a slight boost in these figures over the next couple months, but long-term industry improvement still seems difficult to gauge.
