Canada's labour market rebounds sharply in May

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Canada's labour market rebounds sharply in May

Unemployment falls to 6.6% as construction, transportation and summer hiring lead rebound: StatCan



Canada's labour market rebounds sharply in May

By Louise Smith
Jun 05, 2026

Canada's labour market rebounded sharply in May, adding 88,000 jobs and pushing the unemployment rate down to 6.6%, according to Statistics Canada's latest Labour Force Survey released Friday.

The gain marks the first significant employment increase since November 2025, and comes after a net loss of 112,000 jobs over the first four months of the year. ... On a year-over-year basis, employment was up 147,000, or 0.7%. The employment rate — the share of the population aged 15 and older who are employed — rose 0.2 percentage points to 60.7%, also the first increase since November.

The employment situation showed a nice rebound in May, reversing a weak start to the year, says Brendon Bernard, senior economist at Indeed Canada. ... "Not only did full-time employment and hours worked jump, but gains were encouragingly broad-based across industries," he says.

The strong numbers are a good reminder of how a "brewing trend" in the Labour Force Survey can reverse with just one data release, according to Bernard.

{snip}