Labour Force Survey, March 2026
Released: 2026-04-10
Highlights
Employment was little changed in March (+14,000; +0.1%) and the employment rate held steady at 60.6%. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7%.
Across the major age groups, employment held steady and the unemployment rate was little changed.
Employment rose in the 'other services' industry (+15,000; +1.9%), which includes personal and repair services, and it also increased in natural resources (+10,000; +3.0%). Employment declined in finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing (-11,000; -0.8%).
Fewer people were employed in British Columbia (-19,000; -0.7%), while employment rose in Manitoba (+11,000; +1.5%), Saskatchewan (+5,800; +0.9%) and Nova Scotia (+3,900; +0.7%).
Average hourly wages among employees increased 4.7% (+$1.68 to $37.73) on a year-over-year basis in March, following growth of 3.9% in February (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment held steady in March
Employment was little changed in March (+14,000; +0.1%) following a cumulative decline of 109,000 (-0.5%) over the first two months of 2026. The number of full-time and part-time workers both showed little variation in March.
Chart 1
Employment rate holds steady in March
On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 87,000 (+0.4%) in March, largely reflecting gains over the final four months of 2025.
The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—was unchanged at 60.6% in March, following a cumulative decline of 0.3 percentage points in January and February. The employment rate in March was just above the recent low of 60.5% recorded in August 2025 and was down 0.3 percentage points year over year.
Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group, March 2026
In March, there was little variation in the number of public and private sector employees as well as in the number of self-employed workers. On a year-over-year basis, the number of employees grew at a faster pace in the public sector (+1.2%) than in the private sector (+0.6%).
Unemployment rate unchanged at 6.7%
The unemployment rate was unchanged in March at 6.7%, following a 0.2 percentage point increase in February. The unemployment rate was below the peak of 7.1% recorded in August and September 2025, and was little changed on a year-over-year basis. In comparison, the unemployment rate averaged 6.0% from 2017 to 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chart 2
Unemployment rate unchanged at 6.7% in March
The layoff rate—representing the proportion of people who were employed in February but had become unemployed in March as a result of a layoff—was 0.6%, comparable with the corresponding proportion from 12 months earlier (0.7%) and with the pre-pandemic average (0.7%) for the corresponding months from 2017 to 2019 (not seasonally adjusted).
Among people who were unemployed in February, 15.2% found work in March. This was similar to the rate recorded in the same months in 2025 (14.7%) but was below the pre-pandemic average of 19.1% for the same months from 2017 to 2019 (not seasonally adjusted). This indicates that higher unemployment rates relative to the pre-pandemic period continue to be mostly driven by slower hirings, rather than by increased layoffs.
The participation rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—was unchanged at 64.9%. On a year-over-year basis, the labour force participation rate was down 0.4 percentage points.
Unemployment rate varies little among major demographic groups
Among people in the core working age of 25 to 54 years old, the unemployment rate was virtually unchanged at 5.8% for both men and women in March. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate was up 0.3 percentage points for core-aged women but was little changed for core-aged men.
Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group, March 2026
Among youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate was little changed at 13.8% in March, following an increase of 1.3 percentage points in February. The youth unemployment rate in March was below the recent high of 14.6% recorded in September 2025 and was little changed on a year-over-year basis.
The unemployment rate for people aged 55 years and older was 4.9% in March, unchanged in the month and down 0.3 percentage points from the same month a year earlier.
Year-over-year growth in average hourly wages accelerates
Average hourly wages among employees were up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis in March, the highest growth rate since October 2024 (not seasonally adjusted). Year-over-year growth in average hourly wages had previously hovered between 3.2% and 3.9% from January 2025 to February 2026.
Across age groups, year-over-year hourly wage growth in March was highest among employees aged 55 and older (+5.2%) and lowest among young employees aged 15 to 24 (+1.8%). Among core-aged (25 to 54 years old) employees, the average hourly wage was up 4.5% over this period.
Recent increases in average hourly wages were partly due to a shift in the composition of employment. Using a method that holds constant the composition of employees by occupation and job tenure, average hourly wages grew by 3.6% on a year-over-year basis in March, similar to the rate of growth observed in January (+3.6%) and February 2025 (+3.5%).
Employment rises in 'other services' and natural resources
Employment rose in 'other services' (+15,000; +1.9%) in March, offsetting a similar-sized decline in February. Employment in this industry, which includes repair and maintenance services, was little changed compared with 12 months earlier.
Chart 3
Employment change by industry, March 2026
Employment also increased in natural resources (+10,000; +3.0%), with nearly half of those gains coming from Alberta (+4,500; +3.2%). On a year-over-year basis, employment in this industry was little changed at the national level and in Alberta.
On the other hand, employment fell in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (-11,000; -0.8%) in March, the first significant monthly decline since November 2023.
Although employment in health care and social assistance was little changed in March, it was up 94,000 (+3.3%) compared with 12 months earlier, the largest employment growth among industries. Over that same period, the largest employment decline among industries was in manufacturing (-44,000; -2.4%).
Employment down in British Columbia, up in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia
Employment in British Columbia fell by 19,000 (-0.7%) in March, following a similar-sized decline (-20,000; -0.7%) in February. The unemployment rate in British Columbia rose 0.6 percentage points to reach 6.7% in March, matching the national average but the highest level for the province since February 2016 (excluding 2020 and 2021).
Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, March 2026
On the other hand, employment increased in Manitoba (+11,000; +1.5%) and in Saskatchewan (+5,800; +0.9%) in March, following declines in both provinces in February. The unemployment rate held steady in Manitoba at 5.6% in March. Saskatchewan had the lowest unemployment rate among the provinces at 5.0%, down 0.6 percentage points in March. Employment also rose in Nova Scotia (+3,900; +0.7%) in March and the unemployment rate in the province fell 0.5 percentage points to 6.6%.
In Ontario, employment held steady for the second consecutive month, after declining by 67,000 (-0.8%) in January. The unemployment rate in the province was unchanged at 7.6% in March. Regions of Southern Ontario continued to experience challenging labour market conditions and elevated unemployment rates, in a context that includes ongoing economic uncertainty related to tariffs on exports to the United States. Among Canada's 20 largest census metropolitan areas (CMAs), the 5 highest unemployment rates in March were in London (9.1%), Kitchener–Cambridge–Waterloo (8.6%), Windsor (8.5%), Barrie (8.5%) and Toronto (8.1%) (three-month moving averages).
Infographic 3
Unemployment rates by census metropolitan area (CMA)
Employment also held steady in Quebec, following a decline of 57,000 (-1.2%) in February. The unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 5.4% in Quebec in March, as fewer people searched for work. In the Montréal CMA, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.6% in March, while in the CMA of Québec, it stood at 2.6%—the lowest rate among Canada's 20 largest CMAs (three-month moving averages).
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 March reflect labour market conditions during the reference week of March 15 to 21, 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 – Frequently asked questions.
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 May 8, 2026. April 2026 data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of April 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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