Canada's employment falls by 33k, down from expected gain of 10k

Investing.com -- Today, Statistics Canada reported a decline in employment by 33,000 jobs in March 2025, contradicting the expected gain of 10,000 jobs. The employment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 60.9%, while the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 6.7%.

The reduction in employment was most noticeable among men aged 55 and older, with a drop of 21,000 jobs. Employment in the wholesale and retail trade sector also saw a significant decrease, with a loss of 29,000 jobs. However, some sectors experienced growth, such as personal and repair services, which added 12,000 jobs, and utilities, which saw a rise of 4,200 jobs.

Provincially, Ontario and Alberta experienced a decrease in employment, with a loss of 28,000 and 15,000 jobs respectively. In contrast, Saskatchewan saw an increase of 6,600 jobs. Other provinces reported little change in employment for March.

Despite the decline in employment, total hours worked increased by 0.4% in March, following a 1.3% decrease in February. On a year-over-year basis, total hours worked increased by 1.2%. Additionally, average hourly wages among employees rose 3.6% on a year-over-year basis in March.

The unemployment rate rose to 6.7% in March, marking the first increase since November 2024. The number of unemployed people in March totaled 1.5 million, a 2.5% increase from February and a 12.4% rise on a year-over-year basis.

The report also highlighted that employment fell in sectors such as agriculture, while there were gains in 'other services' and utilities.

For the territories, the employment rate in the Northwest Territories increased 2.1 percentage points to 68.1% in the 12 months to March 2025. In Yukon, the rate in March 2025 was little changed from a year earlier.

The report also revealed that self-employed workers, who make up 13.1% of all workers, often lack coverage by private insurance plans. In March, 43.3% of self-employed workers aged 15 to 69 were covered by a supplementary health care plan, 36.4% by a dental plan, and 25.3% by disability insurance.