Canada's unemployment rate climbed to a six-month high of 6.7 per cent in October as the economy shed jobs for a third consecutive month, Statistics Canada said on Friday.

The rate rose 0.2 percentage points from 6.5 per cent in September. Employers cut a net 4,700 jobs in October, building on the 110,000 positions lost over the previous two months.

The last time unemployment was higher than 6.7 per cent was in April, when it reached 6.9 per cent. Employment has now fallen by about 46,000 jobs so far in 2026, and the economy has failed to post any job gains on average this year.

Private-sector losses lead the decline

The losses were concentrated in full-time work and in the private sector, where employment fell by 52,500 — the first decline since February. Public-sector employment rose by about 50,000, partly offsetting the fall.

Wholesale and retail trade shed 28,800 jobs, the biggest decline of any sector, and employment there is now down by about 113,000 from a year earlier. Transport and warehousing lost 10,100 jobs, while construction added 16,000.

Young Canadians are finding it hardest. Unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 rose 0.7 percentage points to 13.7 per cent in October.

The figures came in well below expectations. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the economy would add 13,600 jobs and the unemployment rate would hold steady at 6.5 per cent.

The weakness contrasts with the United States, where 165,000 jobs were added in October and unemployment eased to 4.1 per cent.

Among the 1.5 million Canadians who were unemployed in October, almost a quarter had been searching for work for 27 weeks or more. Just under one in five people who were unemployed in September had found a job by October, well below the pre-pandemic average.