Statistics Canada’s newest Labour Force Survey reports that Canadian employment rose by 76,000 (a 0.4 per cent gain) in January 2025, while the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 per cent to 6.6 per cent.
The 76,000 increase followed increases in December 2024 (91,000 – also a 0.4 per cent gain) and November 2024 (44,000 – a 0.2 per cent gain), marking the third straight month of gains. It’s worth noting the number of both full-time (147,000 – a 0.9 per cent gain) and part-time (64,000 – a 1.7 per cent gain) positions increased during this three-month period.
While the past two months have seen a decline in Canada’s unemployment rate, it was higher in January 2025 (6.6 per cent) than January 2024 (5.6 per cent). However, Statistics Canada also reported 416,000 more people working in January 2025 compared with January 2024 – a year-over-year gain of approximately 2 per cent.
Manufacturing, tech key contributors to January 2025 Canadian job growth
Canada’s January 2025 job growth was driven by the private sector, which added 57,000 jobs (a 0.4 per cent gain), a third consecutive monthly increase which brought year-over-year growth for private sector employment to 215,000 (1.6 per cent). Canadian public sector employment was little changed from December, though it was up 107,000 (a 2.4 per cent gain) compared with 12 months earlier.
The number of self-employed people also rose by 27,000 in January (a 1.0 per cent gain), growing by 94,000 (3.6 per cent) year-over-year.
The manufacturing sector and professional, scientific and technical services sector were key contributors to January’s growth. The former added 33,000 positions to the Canadian economy (1.8 per cent monthly growth), while the latter added 22,000 (1.1 per cent).
Other industries that reported significant job gains in January 2025, according to Statistics Canada, include:
Construction: 19,300 jobs added (1.2 per cent gain)
Accommodation and food services: 14,900 jobs added (1.3 per cent gain)
Transportation and warehousing: 13,200 jobs added (1.2 per cent gain)
Other industries saw contraction last month, notably the following:
Services other than professional, scientific and technical (above); business, building and other support (below); educational (also below) accommodation and food (above); and public administration: 13,900 jobs lost (1.8 per cent loss)
Educational services: 7,900 jobs lost (0.5 per cent loss)
Business, building and other support services: 7,400 jobs lost (1 per cent loss)
