Canada’s unemployment rate saw a slight increase in April with young Canadians bearing the brunt of an uncertain job market.
Statistics Canada’s latest Labour Force Survey showed a slight increase in the unemployment rate from 6.7 per cent to 6.9 per cent, reaching its highest level since January 2017.
The unemployment rate for young Canadians between the ages of 15 to 24 rose to 14.1 per cent, a 1.2 per cent increase from April 2024. The youth unemployment rate remains glaringly high compared to the 9.2 per cent unemployment rate for Canadian youth in July 2022.
Young men were hit particularly hard, as their unemployment rate shot up by over 1 per cent from March to April to 15.4 per cent.
In contrast, the unemployment rate for Canadians aged 25 to 54 is 5.8 per cent while the rate is 5.3 per cent for Canadians 55 years and older.
Canada’s largest province Ontario has the second-highest unemployment rate in the country at 7.8 per cent, up 0.3 per cent from March. Newfoundland and Labrador remains the province with the highest unemployment rate of 9.6 per cent while Alberta has the third highest rate of 7.1 per cent.
Saskatchewan has the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, at 4.3 per cent, a significant improvement from 4.9 per cent in March.
The decline in employment in Ontario was largely driven by significant job losses in the manufacturing and retail sectors.
The Canadian economy shed 31,000 manufacturing jobs in April, a 1.6 per cent decrease from the previous month, while Ontario’s economy saw a net loss of 33,000 jobs in this sector. This follows the loss of 7,100 jobs in manufacturing in March.
Employment in wholesale and retail trade fell by 27,000 in April, following a similar decline of employment in the sector in March where 29,000 jobs were lost.
Job gains were mostly driven by increased employment in the public sector of 37,000 jobs, mostly from temporary employees working at polls during the recent federal election.
These numbers come after the Canadian economy has sustained years of hardship, from high levels of inflation, negative per capita economic growth, and declining foreign investment.
Analysts also agree that the recent imposition of tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump on Canadian goods weakens demand from American retailers and consumers for Canadian manufactured goods, affecting employment in these sectors.