Workers inspect sheets of stainless steel after being pressed from coils, at Magna Stainless and Aluminum in Montreal on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

Unemployment rate jumps to 6.8% in December despite job gain

By The Canadian Press Jan 9, 2026 | 7:48 AM

Statistics Canada says a boost in the number of people looking for work in December drove the unemployment rate higher at the end of the year.

The agency said the economy added 8,200 jobs last month, topping economists’ expectations.

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The unemployment rate rose to 6.8 per cent in December, StatCan said, up from 6.5 per cent in November.

The data showed job gains in Ontario and Quebec last month did not keep pace with labour force growth in both provinces, driving the jobless rate higher in those jurisdictions.

Growth nationally was concentrated in full-time work, StatCan said, and the healthcare and social assistance sector led gains with 21,000 positions added in December. Also seeing increases were the construction industry and “other services” – a broad category that includes professions from hairdressers to auto mechanics.

The professional, scientific and technical services sector meanwhile shed 18,000 positions to end the year, and the accommodation and food services industry also faced losses.

The trade-sensitive manufacturing sector added 4,300 jobs in December.

Average hourly wages rose 3.4 per cent year-over-year in December, cooling from 3.6 per cent in November.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the economy would shed 5,000 positions in December, giving back some of the 181,000 jobs added in the previous three months.

Statistics Canada said the labour market faced headwinds from U.S. tariffs through much of 2025 but conditions improved for job seekers toward the end of the year.

The agency noted that youth in particular faced a difficult labour market this past year.

Young workers aged 15 to 24 accounted for 27,000 job losses in December, erasing some gains seen in November and October.

StatCan said the youth jobless rate rose half a percentage point to 13.3 per cent to end 2025. That figure was down from 14.7 per cent recorded in September, a 15-year high outside the COVID-19 pandemic.

Friday’s jobs report marks the Bank of Canada’s last look at the state of the labour market before its first interest rate decision of the year at the end of this month.

Saskatchewan government says province added 15,200 jobs in 2025

According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the province added 15,200 jobs in 2025, and boasted the lowest unemployment among provinces at 5.2 per cent, well below the national rate of 6.8 per cent.

“In 2025, Saskatchewan continued to experience strong job growth and low unemployment rates, this is the direct result of the strength of industry and employers, and the increasing opportunities available in Saskatchewan,” Eric Schmalz, Saskatchewan’s immigration and career training minister, said in a statement.

The government said that in 2025 Saskatchewan saw all-time highs in full-time employment (510,600), and overall employment (617,400).

“Industries that saw the largest job gains from 2024 were health care and social assistance up 9,000, construction which increased by 5,000, and agriculture increased by 1,600,” the province noted in a statement.

“The province continues to see economic growth in other areas. In 2025 Saskatchewan ranked first amongst provinces for growth in urban housing starts (January to November) and second in the value of building permits and new motor vehicle sales (January to October).”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2026.

–with files from 650 CKOM