Canada Employment Research Brief

Economy loses jobs. Canada’s economy was heading into 2025 with strong momentum. Lower interest rates were fuelling hiring intention – monthly employment gains averaged 70,000 positions between November and January – which in turn drove household consumption and economic growth. Recent tariff uncertainties, however, have curbed business and consumer confidence, which have now begun pulling through into Canada’s labour market. Following a largely unchanged reading in February, Canada’s economy shed 33,000 jobs in March. Well-below the consensus estimate of a 10,000-position gain, this represented the largest monthly drop in roughly three years. Consequently, the three-month moving average growth rate fell to 15,000 jobs in March — down from 56,000 last month. The unemployment rate also ticked up 10 basis points to 6.7 per cent.