March jobs numbers revealed

Canada's job market showed signs of stabilization last month, with employment edging up by 14,000 positions after a cumulative loss of 109,000 jobs over the first two months of the year, according to data from Statistics Canada, published Friday.

The national unemployment rate held firm at 6.7 per cent, while the employment rate remained at 60.6 per cent, signalling a labour market treading water rather than gaining momentum.

For prime working-age adults between 25 and 54, the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 5.8 per cent in March, holding steady for both men and women. Year over year, however, the picture diverges slightly by gender. While core-aged women saw their unemployment rate rise by 0.3 percentage points, the rate for core-aged men remained largely the same.

While the layoff rate of 0.6 per cent remained in line with historical norms, only 15.2 per cent of those unemployed in February found work in March, well below the pre-pandemic average of 19.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, youth unemployment remained elevated at 13.8 per cent but was off its September 2025 peak of 14.6 per cent. Workers aged 55 and older fared best, with an unemployment rate of just 4.9 per cent and the strongest wage growth of any age group at 5.2 per cent year over year.

Average hourly wages among employees climbed 4.7 per cent year over year to $37.73, marking the strongest pace of growth since October 2024, a notable acceleration from the 3.2 per cent to 3.9 per cent range that had persisted from January 2025 through February 2026.

However, part of the increase reflects shifts in workforce composition rather than broad-based raises. After adjusting for changes in occupation and job tenure, wage growth came in at a more moderate 3.6 per cent.

The "other services" sector, which includes personal and repair services, led monthly gains with 15,000 new positions, while natural resources added 10,000 jobs, nearly half of which were concentrated in Alberta.

However, the finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing sector shed 11,000 jobs, its first significant monthly decline since November 2023. On a year-over-year basis, health care and social assistance posted the strongest growth of any industry, adding 94,000 positions, while manufacturing recorded the steepest annual decline at 44,000 jobs lost.

Ontario's labour market remained flat for a second straight month, with its unemployment rate sitting at an elevated 7.6 per cent. Southern Ontario cities continued to face particularly challenging conditions, with London, Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Windsor, Barrie, and Toronto recording the five highest unemployment rates among major metropolitan areas, a dynamic shaped in part by trade uncertainty linked to US tariffs, StatsCan noted.

Elsewhere in the country, British Columbia saw employment fall by 19,000 in March, extending a two-month slide, and its unemployment rate rose to 6.7 per cent - the highest for the province since early 2016.

Meanwhile, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Nova Scotia posted gains, with Saskatchewan boasting the lowest provincial unemployment rate at 5.0 per cent.