Unemployment Rate in Canada increased to 7 percent in May from 6.90 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides - Canada Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This statistic shows the unemployment rate in Canada in June 2024, by metropolitan area. In 2024, about 8.5 percent of the labor force in the Calgary metropolitan area (Alberta) was unemployed.

Key information about Canada Unemployment Rate

• Canada Unemployment Rate remained the same at 6.60% in Feb 2025, from the previously reported figure of 6.60% in Jan 2025.
• Canada Unemployment Rate is updated monthly, available from Jan 1976 to Feb 2025, with an average rate of 7.60%.
• The data reached an all-time high of 14.20% in May 2020 and a record low of 4.80% in Jul 2022.
• The data is reported by reported by Statistics Canada.
• In the latest reports, Canada Population reached 41.29 million people in Jun 2024.

Youth Unemployment Rate in Canada increased to 14.20 percent in May from 14.10 percent in April of 2025. This dataset provides - Canada Youth Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The statistic shows the unemployment rate in Canada from 2019 to 2023, with projections up until 2029. In 2023, the unemployment rate in Canada was at around 5.41 percent. Canada’s economy Three-quarter of Canada’s workforce is employed in the services sector, with the other two sectors, agriculture and industry, accounting for the rest of Canada’s employment. The country’s main export and import partner is the United States. Although both export and import figures have increased over the last few years, the trade balance of goods in Canada – i.e. the value of Canada’s exports minus the value of its imports – has slumped dramatically since the economic crisis hit in 2008. In 2009, for the first time in a decade, Canada reported a trade deficit, and the figures are still struggling to recover. Additionally, Canada’s public debt has been increasing since the crisis. Although a few key figures are still not back to the usual level, Canada and its economy seem to have more or less bounced back from the crisis; as can be seen above, the unemployment rate is gradually decreasing, for example, and gross domestic product / GDP in Canada has been increasing steadily. Canada is thus among the countries with the largest proportion of global gross domestic product / GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity. Canada is among the leading trading nations worldwide, and an important part of its economy is the export of oil. The country hosts significant oil resources, in fact, its capacity is the third-largest after those of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Historical chart and dataset showing Canada unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

Unemployment rate, participation rate, and employment rate by educational attainment, gender and age group, annual.

Regional unemployment rates used by the Employment Insurance program, by effective date, current month.

Historical chart and dataset showing Canada youth unemployment rate by year from 1991 to 2024.

Number of persons in the labour force (employment and unemployment), unemployment rate, participation rate and employment rate by province, gender and age group. Data are presented for 12 months earlier, previous month and current month, as well as year-over-year and month-to-month level change and percentage change. Data are also available for the standard error of the estimate, the standard error of the month-to-month change and the standard error of the year-over-year change.

The unemployment rate in Canada stands at 7.1 percent according to the latest data from . That reading shows an increase from the level of 6.7 percent in the previous month and an increase from the level of 6.5 percent in the same month of the previous year. The unemployment rate data in Canada...

The number of people who are unemployed as a percentage of the active labour force (i.e. employed and unemployed).

Graph and download economic data for Infra-Annual Labor Statistics: Unemployment Rate Total: 15 Years or over for Canada (LRUNTTTTCAM156S) from Jan 1955 to May 2025 about 15 years +, Canada, unemployment, and rate.

LFS data are used to produce the well-known unemployment rate as well as other standard labour market indicators such as the employment rate and the participation rate. The LFS also provides employment estimates by industry, occupation, public and private sector, hours worked and much more, all cross-classifiable by a variety of demographic characteristics. Estimates are produced for Canada, the provinces, the territories and a large number of sub-provincial regions. For employees, data on wage rates, union status, job permanency and establishment size are also produced. These data are used by different levels of government for evaluation and planning of employment programs in Canada. Regional unemployment rates are used by Employment and Social Development Canada to determine eligibility, level and duration of insurance benefits for persons living within a particular employment insurance region. The data are also used by labour market analysts, economists, consultants, planners, forecasters and academics in both the private and public sector.

Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (modeled ILO estimate) in Canada was reported at 6.273 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Canada - Unemployment, female - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a monthly survey of Canadian households carried out by Statistics Canada. It was developed after the Second World War to satisfy a need for reliable and timely data on the labour market due to the massive labour market changes involved in the transition from a war to peace-time economy. The objectives of the LFS have been to divide the working-age population into three mutually exclusive labour force status categories (employed, unemployed, and not in the labour force) and to provide descriptive and explanatory data on each of these groups. With the release of the survey results only 10 days after the completion of data collection, the LFS estimates are the first of the major monthly economic data series to be released. The LFS is the source of Canada's official unemployment rates, including the rates used by Employment and Social Development Canada in the calculation of Employment Insurance (EI) eligibility and benefit criteria. Data from the survey also provide information on major labour market trends, such as shifts in employment across industrial sectors, hours worked and labour force participation. The LFS also provides employment estimates by industry, occupation, public and private sector, hours worked and much more, all cross-classifiable by a variety of demographic characteristics. Estimates are produced for Canada, the provinces, the territories and a large number of sub-provincial regions. For employees, data on wage rates, union status, job permanency and establishment size are also produced.

The unemployment rate in Canada increased by one percentage points (+18.45 percent) in 2024 in comparison to the previous year. In total, the unemployment rate amounted to 6.45 percent in 2024. The unemployment rate refers to the share of the economically active population currently without work but in search of employment. The unemployment rate does not include economically inactive persons such as the long-term unemployed, children, or retirees.

Graph and download economic data for Youth Unemployment Rate for Canada (SLUEM1524ZSCAN) from 1991 to 2024 about 15 to 24 years, Canada, unemployment, and rate.

The Labour Force Survey provides estimates of employment and unemployment. With the release of the survey results only 10 days after the completion of data collection, the LFS estimates are the first of the major monthly economic data series to be released. LFS data are used to produce the well-known unemployment rate as well as other standard labour market indicators such as the employment rate and the participation rate. The LFS also provides employment estimates by industry, occupation, public and private sector, hours worked and much more, all cross-classifiable by a variety of demographic characteristics. Estimates are produced for Canada, the provinces, the territories and a large number of sub-provincial regions. For employees, data on wage rates, union status, job permanency and establishment size are also produced. (2024-06-17)

Number of persons in the labour force (employment and unemployment) and not in the labour force, unemployment rate, participation rate and employment rate by Atlantic region, Central provinces, Western provinces, Indigenous population (First Nations or Métis) and Non-Indigenous population, sex, and age group, last 5 years.