In October 2025, Canada's unemployment rate decreased to 6.9%, down from a four-year peak of 7.1% the month prior, defying market predictions that it would hold steady at 7.1%. National employment saw a net increase of 66,600 jobs, bringing the total to 21,015,300. This rise extended gains from the previous month and sharply contrasted with forecasts of a slight decline. Concurrently, the number of unemployed individuals decreased by 49,200, reaching 1,557,300. Unemployment among core-aged men dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 6%, while for core-aged women it remained relatively stable at 5.7%. Additionally, the youth unemployment rate declined by 0.6% to 14.1%, marking its first decrease since February. Meanwhile, long-term unemployment accounted for 21.3% of the unemployed population, consistent with the same period last year.