Canada Sheds 4,700 Jobs in October, Unemployment Rate Rises to 6.7%; Both Miss Expectations

08:58 AM EST, 11/06/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Canadian employment edged down by 4,700 jobs in October, while the unemployment rate rose for a second consecutive month by 0.2 percentage point to 6.7%, reflecting an increase in the number of people actively seeking work, according to the country's statistical agency. October's job losses and the unemployment rate were worse than expected. A Bloomberg survey saw 15,000 job gains and an unchanged rate at 6.5%. Unemployment increased most notably among youth aged 15 to 24, rising 0.7 percentage point to 13.7%, while the rate for those aged 55 and over edged up 0.2 point to 5.5%, wrote Statistics Canada in its Friday Labour Force Survey (LFS). In contrast, unemployment remained unchanged among core-aged men and women, at 5.8% and 5.3%, respectively. By sector, employment fell by 29,000, or 1.0% on the month, in wholesale and retail trade, while construction added 16,000 jobs, or 0.9%, and educational services gained 15,000, or 1.0%, added StatsCan. Average hourly wages rose 2.2% year over year to CA$37.89, slightly below September's 2.3% increase, on an unadjusted basis, said the Ottawa-based agency. The share of Canadians aged 15 and over struggling to cover essential household expenses rose for the first time since 2022, wrote StatsCan in the LFS. In October 2026, 29.7% reported difficulty affording necessities such as housing, food, transportation and clothing over the previous four weeks. The monthly LFS estimates are based on a sample and are as such subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level. LFS estimates at the Canada level don't include the territories. The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labor market indicators released by StatsCan, which includes indicators from programs such as the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH); Employment Insurance Statistics; and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey.