Labour Force Survey, January 2025
Released: 2025-02-07
Highlights
Employment increased by 76,000 (+0.4%) in January and the employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 61.1%. The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.6%.
In January, employment increased for youth aged 15 to 24 (+31,000; +1.1%), as well as for women (+36,000; +0.5%) and men (+28,000; +0.4%) in the core working age group of 25 to 54 years old.
Employment gains in January were led by manufacturing (+33,000; +1.8%) and professional, scientific and technical services (+22,000; +1.1%).
Employment rose in Ontario (+39,000; +0.5%), British Columbia (+23,000; +0.8%), and New Brunswick (+2,900; +0.7%) and was little changed in the other provinces in January.
Average hourly wages were up 3.5% (+$1.23 to $35.99) on a year-over-year basis (not seasonally adjusted). This followed year-over-year growth of 4.0% in December.
Total actual hours worked rose 0.9% in January and were up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis.
Employment increases for the third consecutive month in January
Employment rose by 76,000 (+0.4%) in January, following increases in December (+91,000; +0.4%) and November (+44,000; +0.2%). Over this three-month period, there were increases both in full-time work (+147,000; +0.9%) and part-time work (+64,000; +1.7%).
The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—increased 0.1 percentage points to 61.1% in January, marking the third consecutive monthly increase. These recent increases follow a period in which employment growth had been outpaced by population growth, resulting in the employment rate declining 1.7 percentage points from April 2023 to October 2024.
Chart 1
Employment rate rises for the third consecutive month in January, following a downward trend throughout most of 2023 and 2024
Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group
The number of employees in the private sector increased by 57,000 (+0.4%) in January, building on an increase in December (+39,000; +0.3%). This brought year-over-year growth for private sector employment to 215,000 (+1.6%).
Employment in the public sector was little changed in January but was up 107,000 (+2.4%) compared with 12 months earlier. The number of self-employed people rose by 27,000 (+1.0%) in January and was up 94,000 (+3.6%) on a year-over-year basis.
Employment rises among core-aged men and women as well as youth
Employment growth in January was concentrated among people in the core working age group (25 to 54 years old), with increases both for women (+36,000; +0.5%) and men (+28,000; +0.4%) in this age group.
For core-aged men, this was the third consecutive month of employment growth, bringing cumulative gains since October to 90,000 (+1.3%). For core-aged women, the employment increase in January was the first since August.
Employment rates also increased both for core-aged women (+0.3 percentage points to 80.4%) and men (+0.2 percentage points to 86.8%) in January.
Employment for youth aged 15 to 24 increased by 31,000 (+1.1%) in January, led by gains among young men (+25,000; +1.8%). The employment rate among youth increased by 0.6 percentage points to 54.5% in January, the first increase since April 2024.
Among men aged 55 and older, employment fell by 20,000 (-0.8%) in January, partially offsetting a gain in the previous month (+35,000; +1.5%). Employment for women aged 55 and older was little changed in the month.
Unemployment rate ticks down to 6.6%
The unemployment rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.6% in January, marking the second consecutive monthly decline from a recent peak of 6.9% in November 2024. The unemployment rate had previously increased 1.9 percentage points from March 2023 to November 2024, as labour market conditions cooled after a period of low unemployment rates and high job vacancies following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total number of unemployed people was little changed at 1.5 million in January but was up by 251,000 (+20.2%) from a year earlier. Among those who were unemployed in December, 65.4% remained unemployed in January, higher than the corresponding proportion in January 2024 (61.7%) (not seasonally adjusted). This indicates that many unemployed people are facing continued difficulties finding employment, despite recent employment growth.
Unemployment rate falls for youth, holds steady for core-aged men and women
The decline in the overall unemployment rate in January was driven by youth aged 15 to 24, whose unemployment rate fell 0.6 percentage points to 13.6%, down from a recent high of 14.2% in August and December 2024.
Chart 2
Unemployment rate declines in January
Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group
Despite the decline in January, the youth unemployment rate remained elevated for some groups, including racialized youth. Among the three largest racialized population groups, the youth unemployment rate was up on a year-over-year basis for South Asian (+5.2 percentage points to 15.2%) and Chinese (+3.9 percentage points to 16.6%) Canadians. Among Black youth, the unemployment rate was 18.6% in January, little changed from a year earlier. In comparison, the unemployment rate of youth who were not racialized and not Indigenous was 10.8% in January 2025, up from 9.4% in January 2024 (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
The unemployment rates for core-aged women and men were little changed in January, both at 5.6%. Among people aged 55 and older, the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 4.5% for women and was unchanged at 5.5% for men.
Year-over-year growth in average hourly wages decelerates for third consecutive month
Average hourly wages were up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis in January (+$1.23 to $35.99), the slowest pace of growth since April 2022. The rate of growth was 4.0% in December and 4.2% in November. Starting in the second half of 2022 and throughout most of 2023 and 2024, year-over-year wage growth hovered around 5.0%, bolstered by broad-based employment and wage growth.
In January, year-over-year wage growth slowed both for permanent employees (+3.7% to $36.83) and temporary employees (+2.5% to $28.65).
Employment gains across several industries
Manufacturing employment rose by 33,000 (+1.8%) in January, following an increase of 17,000 (+0.9%) in December. The increase in January was concentrated in Ontario (+11,000; +1.3%), Quebec (+9,700; +1.9%) and British Columbia (+8,700; +4.9%). Despite the gains in the past two months, overall employment in manufacturing was little changed on a year-over-year basis in January.
Employment rose in professional, scientific and technical services in January (+22,000; +1.1%), the second increase in the past three months. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the industry was up by 66,000 (+3.4%).
Chart 3
Employment gains led by manufacturing in January
Employment in construction increased by 19,000 (+1.2%) in January, building on a net increase of 47,000 (+2.9%) recorded from June to December 2024. On a year-over-year basis, employment in construction was up by 58,000 (+3.6%) in January.
Employment also increased in accommodation and food services (+15,000; +1.3%), transportation and warehousing (+13,000; +1.2%) and agriculture (+10,000; +4.4%) in January. At the same time, there were fewer people employed in "other services" (which includes personal and repair services) (-14,000; -1.8%).
Employment increases in Ontario, British Columbia, and New Brunswick
In Ontario, employment increased by 39,000 (+0.5%) in January, following a gain of 32,000 in December. The employment rate in the province rose 0.2 percentage points to 60.5% in January, the first increase since June 2023, while the unemployment rate held steady at 7.6%.
Employment increased for the second consecutive month in British Columbia (+23,000; +0.8%) in January, and the employment rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 61.3%. Despite the employment gain, the unemployment rate in British Columbia was little changed at 6.0% in January, as more people participated in the labour force.
Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, January 2025
Employment also increased in New Brunswick in January (+2,900; +0.7%) and the unemployment rate in the province fell 1.3 percentage points to 6.4%. At the same time, fewer people participated in the labour force in January in New Brunswick, and the labour force participation rate declined 0.4 percentage points to 60.0%.
Employment in Quebec was little changed for the second consecutive month in January. On a year-over-year basis, employment in Quebec was up by 95,000 (+2.1%), with gains concentrated in the second half of 2024. The unemployment rate in the province was little changed in January at 5.4% but was up 0.8 percentage points on a year-over-year basis.
In the spotlight: Workers less likely to report planning to leave their job compared with 12 months earlier
Changing economic conditions can impact the number of employees who intend to leave their job. As labour market conditions cool and the perceived likelihood of finding new employment decreases, employees may be more likely to seek stability in their current job. While the unemployment rate in Canada has declined in the last two months, it was higher in January 2025 (6.6%) than 12 months earlier (6.1%).
The job changing rate, which measures the proportion of workers who remained employed from one month to the next but who had changed jobs, was 0.4% in January. This was lower than the corresponding proportion in January 2024 (0.5%) and lower than the pre-pandemic average for January from 2017 to 2019 (0.7%).
In addition, 6.1% of permanent employees in January reported that they were planning to leave their job in the next 12 months, down from 6.9% in January 2024 (population aged 15 to 69).
In recent years, workers in many health care occupations have faced pressures at work, such as high levels of stress and more overtime work. However, in January 2025, the proportion of permanent employees in health occupations who intended to leave their job in the next 12 months was 1.7 percentage points lower than a year earlier (4.8% compared with 6.5% in January 2024, population aged 15 to 69).
Dimensions of quality of employment, such as income and benefits, can have an impact on employee retention and intention to leave a job. For example, in January 2025, employees in sales and service occupations (9.0%) were the most likely to report planning to leave their job in the next 12 months, and also had the lowest average hourly wages ($23.21) among major occupational groups.
As immigrants integrate into the Canadian labour market, they often face challenges finding work well-aligned with their qualifications. In January 2025, nearly 1 in 10 (9.3%) permanent employees who were recent immigrants—that is, who had become permanent residents in the previous five years—intended to leave their job in the next 12 months, down from 11.6% in January 2024. In comparison, 5.8% of their counterparts who were born in Canada indicated in January 2025 that they intended to leave their job in the next 12 months, down from 6.7% in January 2024.
In the spotlight: The manufacturing sector, which has dependencies on US demand for Canadian exports, accounts for 8.9% of total employment in Canada
Employment in manufacturing may be particularly susceptible to changes in tariffs and foreign demand; the sector has the largest number of jobs dependent on US demand for Canadian exports. An estimated 641,000 or 39.4% of jobs in manufacturing depend on US demand for Canadian exports (based on the latest available estimates on value added in exports from the System of Macroeconomic Accounts).
According to the Labour Force Survey, there were 1.9 million people employed in manufacturing in January, comprising 8.9% of total employment—the fourth largest sector in Canada. Manufacturing employment, as a total share of employment, has trended down over the years, particularly in the 2000s, but has been more stable since 2010.
In January, private sector employees in manufacturing were more likely to work in full-time (95.3%) and permanent (95.3%) jobs compared with employees across all industries (82.6% of jobs were full-time and 89.6% of jobs were permanent). The union coverage rate for private sector employees in manufacturing (21.8%) remained higher than the average for all private sector employees (14.9%) but was down from the rate of 33.8% recorded in January 2002 (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
In January 2025, the average hourly wage for private sector employees working in manufacturing was $34.80, slightly higher than the average of $33.97 for all private sector employees. On a year-over-year basis, wages were up 2.2% for employees in manufacturing (not seasonally adjusted).
Automotive manufacturing industries are highly integrated with US supply chains; an estimated 68.3% of jobs in these industries depend on US demand for Canadian exports. People working in automotive manufacturing (which includes motor vehicle manufacturing, motor vehicle parts manufacturing and motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing) were concentrated in Southern Ontario, particularly in the economic regions of Toronto (which accounted for 27.7% of all auto workers), Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie (19.8%) and Windsor-Sarnia (14.8%) in January. In Windsor-Sarnia, automotive manufacturing industries accounted for 38.3% of manufacturing employment and 7.3% of total employment (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).
Chart 4
Economic regions with highest employment in manufacturing in January 2025
Over one-quarter (26.5%) of automotive manufacturing employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement in January 2025. In comparison, the union coverage rate in automotive industries was nearly twice as high in January 2002 (49.9%).
Food manufacturing was the largest manufacturing subsector overall and accounted for 16.4% of all manufacturing employment in January. It was also the largest manufacturing subsector across all provinces, except in Ontario. This subsector is less reliant on foreign demand, with 28.8% of jobs dependent on US demand for Canadian exports.
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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 January are for the week of January 12 to 18, 2025.
The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. For more information, see "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."
This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
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 (71-543-G).
Face-to-face personal interviewing resumed in November 2022. Telephone interviews continued to be conducted by interviewers working mainly from their homes rather than Statistics Canada's call centres, as they have since March 2020. About 48,900 interviews were completed in January 2025 and in-depth data quality evaluations conducted each month confirm that the LFS continues to produce an accurate portrait of Canada's labour market.
The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youths aged 15 to 24) 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 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).
In general, month-to-month or year-to-year changes in the number of people employed in an age group reflect the net effect of two factors: (1) the number of people who changed employment status between reference periods, and (2) the number of employed people who entered or left the age group (including through aging, death or migration) between reference periods.
Seasonal adjustment
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted estimates, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Population growth 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 the exception of those living on reserves, full-time members of the regular Armed Forces and persons living in institutions (including inmates of penal institutions and patients in hospitals and nursing homes).
The LFS 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, including changes in the number of non-permanent residents. LFS population calibration totals are derived from Canada's official population estimates using similar sources and methods, with minor adjustments being made to reflect exclusions from the LFS target population.
While the LFS population totals are generally aligned with official demographic estimates, numbers from the two sources should be compared with caution, given the different goals of the programs and because of a number of methodological differences reflecting the objectives of the LFS. Official demographic 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."
Information on racialized groups
Data on racialized groups are derived from the "visible minority" variable. "Visible minority" refers to whether a person belongs to one of the visible minority groups defined by the Employment Equity Act. The Employment Equity Act defines visible minorities as "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." The visible minority population consists mainly of the following groups: South Asian, Chinese, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Arab, Southeast Asian, West Asian, Korean and Japanese.
Information on industries dependent on US demand for Canadian exports
Industries dependent on US demand for exports were identified using estimated shares of jobs due to foreign demand from the most recent annual data available in the table "Value added in exports, by industry, provincial and territorial." For more information on these data, see: Value-added exports: measurement framework.
Revisions to the Labour Force Survey
To ensure that the LFS reflects current labour market conditions as accurately as possible, data are revised following each census to reflect the most recently available population estimates, geographic boundaries, and industry and occupation classifications. This standard revision process results in minor changes to recent and historical LFS data and has little impact on trends in key labour market indicators, such as employment, unemployment, and labour force participation rates.
Revised LFS data series for the period from 1987 to 2024 were announced in The Daily on January 24, 2025. January 2025 LFS data is aligned with these revised series.
Next release
The next release of the LFS will be on March 7, 2025. February data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of February 9 to 15.
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, sex, 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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