Canadians lost over 100,000 full-time jobs between January and February 2026, as employment declined by 25,000 (-0.1%) in the first month and by 84,000 (-0.4%) in the second month, while the employment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 60.6%, and the unemployment rate increased 0.2 percentage points to 6.7%.

Among youths aged 15 to 24, employment fell by 1.7% (-47,000), and by 0.6% (-41,000) for men in the core working age of 25 to 54 years, according to the Canadian Government’s Daily Labour Survey data.

Employment declines in February were recorded in services-producing industries (-56,000; -0.3%) and goods-producing industries (-28,000; -0.7%). However, the largest declines were in wholesale and retail trade (-18,000; -0.6%) and ‘other services’, such as personal and repair services (-14,000; -1.8%).

In Quebec, employment declined by 57,000 (-1.2%), and by 20,000 (-0.7%) in British Columbia, while it declined by 5,500 (-0.9%) in Manitoba and 4,000 (-0.5%) in Saskatchewan. However, there was an increase in employment in Newfoundland and Labrador by 2,100 (+0.8%), with little change in other provinces.

The cumulative fall in employment rates in January and February 2026 partially offset the upward trend observed in the fall of 2025.

According to the data, in February, the number of people working full-time declined by 108,000 (-0.6%), offsetting growth recorded over the previous two months. At the same time, there was little variation in the number of people working part-time in February.

Also, the number of employees in the private sector fell by 73,000 (-0.5%) in February, marking the second consecutive monthly decline. The declines offset gains observed in October and November 2025. However, compared with 12 months earlier, the number of private sector employees was virtually unchanged in February. Meanwhile, the number of public sector employees and the number of self-employed workers both experienced little change in February.

The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 6.7% in February, as employment fell and more people searched for jobs.

Among the 1.5 million people who were unemployed in February 2026, 22.8% were in long-term unemployment, meaning they had been continuously searching for work for 27 weeks or more. This proportion was slightly different from February 2025 (23.0%) but remained significantly higher than the pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 17.1%, recorded during the period from 2017 to 2019.

Among youths aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate rose 1.3 percentage points to 14.1% in February, as employment for this group fell by 47,000 (-1.7%). The increase brings the youth unemployment rate closer to the recent high of 14.6% reached in September 2025, which was the highest since 2010 (excluding 2020 and 2021). On a year-over-year basis, the youth unemployment rate was up 1.0 percentage points.

Meanwhile, unemployment rates for racialised youths were notably higher compared with non-racialised and non-Indigenous youths. For Black youths, the unemployment rate was 23.2% in February, up 4.6 percentage points from 12 months earlier (three-month moving averages, not seasonally adjusted).

Among other large racialised populations, the unemployment rate was 17.4% among Chinese youths and 13.0% among South Asian youths. In comparison, the unemployment rate for non-racialised and non-Indigenous youths was 11.2% in February.

Among core-aged men, the unemployment rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 5.7% in February, remaining below the recent high of 6.3% recorded in August 2025. Employment also fell by 41,000 (-0.6%) among core-aged men in February 2026, driven by a decline in full-time work (-54,000; -0.8%). However, among core-aged women, the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.8%, and the employment rate was steady in February 2026.

The unemployment rate for people aged 55 and older fell 0.2 percentage points to 4.9% in February, the second decrease in the past three months. On a year-over-year basis, the unemployment rate for people aged 55 and older was down 0.3 percentage points.

Meanwhile, the employment decline in February was spread across services-producing industries (-56,000; -0.3%) and goods-producing industries (-28,000; -0.7%).

In services-producing industries, the largest decline was in wholesale and retail trade (-18,000; -0.6%). Employment in this industry has trended down since October 2025, with a cumulative decline of 52,000 (-1.7%) over this period.

There were also fewer people working in ‘other services’ (-14,000; -1.8%) in February, which includes repair and maintenance services, personal care and laundry services, as well as religious and advocacy activities. Employment in ‘other services’ was little changed on a year-over-year basis.

In the goods-producing industries, employment edged down in construction (-12,000; -0.7%) and manufacturing (-9,200; -0.5%) in February. On a year-over-year basis, employment was little changed in construction, while it was down by 52,000 (-2.8%) in manufacturing.