Labour Force Survey, June 2026
Released: 2026-07-10
Highlights
Employment was little changed in June (+18,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%.
Employment was up among youth (15 to 24 years old) (+33,000; +1.2%) and among core-aged people (25 to 54 years old) (+33,000; 0.2%), while it fell among those aged 55 and older (-47,000; -1.1%).
In June, the youth unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage points to 12.7%. The unemployment rate held steady for women (5.5%) and men (5.7%) in the core working age. For people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.2%.
Employment increased in accommodation and food services (+15,000; +1.2%) while it decreased in manufacturing (-17,000; -0.9%), agriculture (-7,600; -3.3%), and utilities (-7,300; -4.3%).
Employment rose in Nova Scotia (+4,800; +0.9%) and Saskatchewan (+2,900; +0.5%) and was little changed in the remaining provinces.
Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.3% (+$1.19 to $37.20) on a year-over-year basis in June, following growth of 3.0% in May (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment holds steady
Employment was little changed in June (+18,000; +0.1%), following an increase of 88,000 (+0.4%) in May. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 99,000 (+0.5%) in June, driven by a net increase in full-time employment (+131,000; +0.8%).
Chart 1
Employment rate increases in June
The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.8% in June. The employment rate in June matched the rate observed at the start of the year (60.8% in January) and was little changed on a year-over-year basis.
Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group, June 2026
The number of public sector employees declined by 31,000 (-0.7%) in June. At the same time, employment edged up among private sector employees (+32,000; +0.2%), following an increase of 56,000 (+0.4%) in May. Overall employment growth in the 12 months to June (+99,000; +0.5%) was concentrated among private sector employees (+94,000; +0.7%). Over the same period, there was little change in the number of public sector employees and self-employed workers.
Unemployment rate falls for second consecutive month
The unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 6.5% in June—matching the rate last observed in January. The decline in June follows a 0.3 percentage point decline in May. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was down 0.4 percentage points in June.
Chart 2
Unemployment rate falls to 6.5% in June
The job finding rate—the proportion of unemployed people who found a job between May and June—was 24.3%. This was higher than the proportion observed for the same period 12 months earlier (21.3%). The layoff rate remained stable at 0.6% in June, unchanged compared with a year earlier and compared with the average observed from 2017 to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (not seasonally adjusted).
The number of people in the labour force was little changed and the participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—held steady at 65.0%.
Youth unemployment rate declines
The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 fell 0.7 percentage points to 12.7% in June, following a 0.9 percentage point decline in May. The youth unemployment rate in June was comparable to the recent low of 12.8% observed in November 2025 and January 2026. However, it remains higher than the pre-pandemic average of 10.8% observed during the period from 2017 to 2019.
Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group, June 2026
The decline in the youth unemployment rate in June was associated with an increase in employment (+33,000; +1.2%), driven primarily by part-time work (+25,000; +1.9%). The employment rate for youth in June (55.1%) was up both in the month (+0.7 percentage points) and compared with 12 months earlier (+0.9 percentage points).
Unemployment rate holds steady among people of core working age and rises among people aged 55 and older
Among people in the core working age (25 to 54 years old), the unemployment rate was unchanged for both women (5.5%) and men (5.7%) in June. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate for women was little changed while among men it was down 0.4 percentage points. Employment varied little for both core-aged women (+18,000; +0.3%) and core-aged men (+15,000; +0.2%) in June.
The unemployment rate among people aged 55 and older rose 0.2 percentage points to 5.2% in June, following three consecutive months of little variation. The increase in the unemployment rate in June was associated with a decline in employment (-47,000; -1.1%). Despite this, both employment and the unemployment rate among people aged 55 and older were little changed on a year-over-year basis.
More favourable student summer job market compared with 2025
From May to August, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects labour market information about students who attended school full time in March and who intend to return to school full time in the fall.
Chart 3
Unemployment rate for returning students, month of June, 1977 to 2026
The unemployment rate for returning students aged 15 to 24 was 15.3% in June, down 2.1 percentage points from June 2025 (17.4%) (not seasonally adjusted). However, this remained higher than the pre-pandemic average of 13.0% for the month of June during the period from 2017 to 2019.
The employment situation of returning students differed markedly by age group. Among returning students aged 20 to 24—those more likely to be in post-secondary education—the unemployment rate was 8.2% in June, 4.1 percentage points lower than a year earlier. For those aged 17 to 19 years, the unemployment rate was 16.5%, down 2.5 percentage points from June of last year.
The unemployment rate among returning students aged 15 to 16 was 30.6% in June and was up 2.8 percentage points year over year. Unemployed returning students in that age group during the June LFS reference week (June 14 to June 20) were most often searching for a summer job while still attending high school.
Among all returning students who were employed in June, most worked in retail trade (25.7%), accommodation and food services (23.3%) and information, culture and recreation (13.0%).
Employment increases in accommodation and food services while it falls in manufacturing
Employment in accommodation and food services rose by 15,000 (+1.2%) in June, the third consecutive monthly increase. Gains in June were concentrated in Quebec (+11,000; +4.3%) and Ontario (+9,800; +2.3%). On a year-over-year basis, employment in accommodation and food services was up by 39,000 (+3.4%).
Chart 4
Employment change by industry, June 2026
On the other hand, employment in manufacturing decreased by 17,000 (-0.9%) in June, offsetting the increase in May (+15,000; +0.8%). Employment in manufacturing has recorded a net decline of 61,000 (-3.2%) from the recent peak in January 2025, coinciding with a period of tariff-related uncertainty for the sector.
Employment rises in Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan
After holding steady for two consecutive months, employment in Nova Scotia increased by 4,800 (+0.9%) in June. The unemployment rate in Nova Scotia in June (6.5%) was down 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, but little changed on a year-over-year basis.
Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, June 2026
Employment also rose in Saskatchewan (+2,900; +0.5%) in June, partly offsetting consecutive monthly declines over the previous two months. The unemployment rate in Saskatchewan was little changed at 6.1% in June.
Employment in Quebec edged up in June (+14,000; +0.3%) for a second consecutive month, following a net decline of 91,000 (-1.9%) from January to April. The unemployment rate in the province was 5.4% in June, little changed compared with the previous month but down 0.8 percentage points from the recent peak of 6.2% recorded in April. In the Montréal census metropolitan area (CMA), the unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 5.9% in June and was down 1.1 percentage points from a year earlier.
In Ontario, employment varied little in June following a cumulative increase of 84,000 (+1.0%) over the previous two months. The unemployment rate in the province was 7.0%, unchanged from May but down 0.8 percentage points from 12 months earlier. In the Toronto CMA, the unemployment rate was little changed at 6.9% in June, following a downward trend from a recent high of 8.5% in February.
Employment was also little changed in British Columbia in June, after increasing in May (+25,000; +0.9%). The unemployment rate in the province fell 0.3 percentage points to 6.5% in June. In the Vancouver CMA, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.6%, but was down 0.7 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
In the spotlight: quarterly labour market trends in the territories
According to the most recent population estimates, approximately 136,500 people lived in the three territories in the first quarter of 2026, including 48,500 in Yukon, 45,800 in the Northwest Territories, and 42,200 in Nunavut. In Nunavut, the vast majority of the population (84.3% as of the latest available census data) is Inuit. Indigenous people also comprise large shares of the populations in the Northwest Territories (49.6%) and in Yukon (22.3%).
Chart 5
Unemployment rate in the territories
LFS data for the territories are collected using a questionnaire that is nearly identical to that used in the provinces. However, a different methodology is applied to account for the unique nature of data collection in the North. Estimates for the territories are reported separately from national and provincial totals and as three-month averages.
Unemployment rates have trended up from recent lows in both Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In Yukon, the unemployment rate rose 3.4 percentage points to 7.3% in the second quarter of 2026, its highest level since the second quarter of 2021. Similarly, the unemployment rate in the Northwest Territories reached 8.1% in the second quarter of 2026, up from a low of 4.2% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.
In Nunavut, the unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2026 was 11.6%, little changed from the previous quarter, when it was 12.1%. The Nunavut unemployment rate reached a recent peak of 15.4% in the fourth quarter of 2025, before easing to recent levels. However, it remained elevated relative to averages recorded over all of 2024 (8.3%) and the first three quarters of 2025 (8.5%).
Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Labour Force Survey is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:
Note to readers
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for June reflect labour market conditions during the reference week of June 14 to 20, 2026.
The sample size of the LFS is approximately 65,000 households, representing over 100,000 respondents each month. For more information, see the Guide to the Labour Force Survey.
This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level. Monthly estimates may show more sampling variability than trends observed over longer periods. For more information, see "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."
LFS estimates at the Canada level do not include the territories.
The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labour market indicators released by Statistics Canada, 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. For more information on the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and those from the SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Labour Force Survey.
The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youth aged 15 to 24 years) is the number employed in that group as a percentage of the population for that group.
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force (employed and unemployed).
The participation rate is the number of employed and unemployed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 years and older.
Full-time employment consists of persons who usually work 30 hours or more per week at their main or only job.
Part-time employment consists of persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week at their main or only job.
Total hours worked refers to the number of hours actually worked at the main job by the respondent during the reference week, including paid and unpaid hours. These hours reflect temporary decreases or increases in work hours (for example, hours lost due to illness, vacation, holidays or weather; or more hours worked due to overtime).
This release refers to the gender of a person. The category "men" includes men, as well as some non-binary persons. The category "women" includes women, as well as some non-binary persons. Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses provided.
Seasonal adjustment
Unless otherwise stated, estimates presented in this release are seasonally adjusted, which facilitates comparisons by removing the effects of typical seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data: Concepts and interpretation.
Population totals in the Labour Force Survey
The LFS target population includes all persons aged 15 years and older whose usual place of residence is in Canada, with some exceptions (those living on reserves, full-time members of the regular Armed Forces and persons living in institutions). The target population includes temporary residents—that is, those with a valid work or study permit, their families, and refugee claimants—as well as permanent residents (landed immigrants) and the Canadian-born.
Information gathered from LFS respondents is weighted to represent the survey target population using population calibration totals. These totals are updated each month, using the most recently available information on population changes derived from Canada's official population estimates, with minor adjustments being made to reflect the LFS target population.
While the LFS population totals are generally aligned with official demographic estimates, the official estimates should be considered the official measure of population change in Canada. More information on how population totals in the LFS are calculated can be found in the article "Interpreting population totals from the Labour Force Survey."
Next release
The next release of the LFS will be on August 7, 2026. July 2026 data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of July 12 to 18.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of the Labour Force Survey is available online in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
The product "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app" (14200001) is also available. This interactive visualization application provides seasonally adjusted estimates by province, gender, age group and industry.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province and census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted" (71-607-X) is also available. This interactive dashboard provides customizable access to key labour market indicators.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to labour market indicators for Canada, provinces, territories and economic regions.
The product "Labour market indicators, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and self-contained labour areas: Interactive dashboard" (71-607-X) is also available. This dashboard allows users to visually explore the estimates using an interactive map as well as time series charts and tables.
The product Labour Force Survey: Public Use Microdata File (71M0001X) is also available. This public use microdata file contains non-aggregated data for a wide variety of variables collected from the Labour Force Survey. The data have been modified to ensure that no individual or business is directly or indirectly identified. This product is for users who prefer to do their own analysis by focusing on specific subgroups in the population or by cross-classifying variables that are not in our catalogued products.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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