The unemployment rate in Canada has dropped and more people are at work than earlier this year, but the most recent figures, released in July by Statistics Canada, are more nuanced than they first appear.
The June statistics showed Canada乌鸦传媒檚 unemployment rate was 6.9 per cent in June, down from 7.0 per cent in May.
In British Columbia, the unemployment rate was 5.6 per cent, down from 6.4 per cent in May. Alberta also saw a drop in its unemployment rate, with the June rate of 6.8 per cent down from the May rate of 7.4 per cent.
The unemployment rate is much better than in some past years, especially during some past economic downturns. In November 1992, the rate reached 12.1 per cent and a decade earlier, in December 1982, it was at 13.1 per cent.
However, Canada乌鸦传媒檚 unemployment rate has been trending upwards over the past three years, from a low of 4.9 per cent nationwide in 2022.
Across Canada, the number of employed people rose by 83,000 in June 2025. This is the first increase in Canada乌鸦传媒檚 employment numbers since January.
However, much of this increase came in the form of part-time work, where 70,000 jobs were added nationwide.
When the cost of living and the cost of housing are high, it is possible that some are supplementing full-time work with part-time work in order to cope financially.
It is also important to look at the youth unemployment rate, not just the overall unemployment rate. For youths, the unemployment rate remained steady at 14.2 per cent. From 2017 to 2019, this rate was 10.8 per cent.
Statistics about employment numbers and unemployment rates can help to understand the labour sector in Canada or in individual provinces, and the data is worth examining.
Still, there is much more to understanding labour trends than simply looking at the overall jobless rate.
乌鸦传媒� Black Press
