Employment in Canada edged up by 14,000 (+0.1%) in March 2026, after a cumulative decline of 109,000 (-0.5%) over the first two months of the year. The result was broadly in line with expectations for a 15,000 increase. The numbers of both full-time and part-time workers showed little change in March.
Employment grew in the “other services” industry (+15,000; +1.9%), which includes personal services and repair services, and in the natural resources sector (+10,000; +3.0%). By contrast, employment fell in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (-11,000; -0.8%).
The employment rate held steady at 60.6% in March, after a cumulative decline of 0.3 percentage points in January and February.
