Canada adds surprise 60,000 jobs in September, unemployment rate steady at 7.1%

The labour market added an unexpected 60,000 jobs in September, led by gains in the tariff-struck manufacturing sector.

Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 per cent last month.

Economists had called for a gain of just 5,000 jobs in September, coming off losses of more than 100,000 positions over the previous two months.

StatCan said gains were concentrated in full-time work with 106,000 positions added in September, more than offsetting a drop in part-time work.

The agency said total employment is up a modest 22,000 net jobs since the start of the year as U.S. tariffs continue to put pressure on critical Canadian industries.

The trade-sensitive manufacturing industry saw its first job gains since January last month and led job growth among other sectors with 28,000 positions added. Before last month, manufacturing had seen a net loss of 58,000 jobs so far in 2025.

The health care and social assistance sector and agriculture industry were also contributing to job growth last month.

The wholesale and retail trade industry lost 21,000 positions in September, but StatCan noted the sector is still up by 61,000 positions year-over-year. The transportation and construction sectors were also shedding jobs in September.

Average hourly wages were up 3.3 per cent year-over-year last month, a tick higher than the rate seen in August.

The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 rose a tenth of a point to 14.7 per cent in September – a 15-year high, outside the pandemic years – as students returning to school continued to struggle finding work after a tough summer jobs market.

The jobless rate among youth attending school was 17.1 per cent, up 3.1 percentage points from September 2024, StatCan said.

The September jobs report will mark the Bank of Canada’s last look at the labour market before its next interest rate decision on Oct. 29.

The central bank cut its policy rate by a quarter point to 2.5 per cent last month as it said the balance of risks in the economy was shifting away from higher prices and toward weaker growth.