Question Period Note: LABOUR FORCE SURVEY RESULTS FOR NOVEMBER 2025

On December 5th, Statistics Canada released the Labour Force Survey results for November 2025. The latest results show that employment rose by 53,600 (+0.3%) in November. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points to reach 6.5%.

Our government is committed to protecting and supporting workers in this period of uncertainty and change with one labour market.

We will advance new opportunities among a one economy agenda and invest to ensure Canadians have the skills for in demand jobs.

With the 2025 Budget, our government proposes investing $1.9 billion dollars in Employment and Social Development Canada over a range of programs and initiatives including $1.5 billion in new investments to support youth employment and skills development, as well as a $75 million investment over three years to expand the Union Training and Innovation Program, and $97 million over five years to establish the Foreign Credential Recognition Action Fund, all starting in 2026-2027.

This is in addition to the $3.4 billion provided to support workers and sectors most impacted by tariffs previously announced.

Every month, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) collects information on all individuals 15 and over in a sample of around 65,000 Canadian households to provide a timely and detailed picture of the labour market across the country.  

The next LFS data (December figures) will be released on January 9th, 2026.

Employment statistics are currently reported using binary gender categories (men+ and women+) as per the structure of the Labour Force Survey. Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses provided. Statistics Canada distributed individuals in the category "non-binary persons" into the other two gender categories and denote them by the "+" symbol. The category "Men+" includes men, as well as some non-binary persons, while the category "Women+" includes women, as well as some non-binary persons.

Main changes since last month (November 2025 vs Octobre 2025) 

Employment: Employment rose by 53,600 (+0.3%) in November. Part-time employment grew by 63,000 (+1.6%), while full-time employment fell by 9,400 (-0.1%).

Employment rate: The employment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to reach 60.9%.

Labour force: The number of people who were part of the labour force decreased by 25,700 (-0.1%) in November, while the working-age population increased by 17,700 (+0.1%). This led to a decline in the participation rate of 0.2 percentage points to reach 65.1%.

Unemployment: The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 79,500 (-5.1%) in November. The unemployment rate decreased by 0.4 percentage points to reach 6.5%.

Long-term unemployment: Those who are unemployed and have been looking for work or on temporary layoff for 27 weeks or more increased by 3,600 (+1.1%) in November. This brought the total number of long-term unemployed to 335,800, comprising slightly more than a fifth (22.7%) of all unemployed people.

By gender: Employment among men+ increased by 37,800 (+0.3%) in November, while employment among women+ increased by 15,800 (+0.2%).

By age group: In November, employment increased by 49,700 (+1.8%) among those aged 15-24 years, while employment was little changed among those aged 25-54 years and 55 years and older.

By industry: Employment increased in 11 of the 16 major industry groups in November. The largest increases were recorded in healthcare and social assistance (+45,500 or +1.6%); accommodation and food services (+14,200 or +1.2%); and forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas (+11,400 or +3.4%). In contrast, the largest declines were recorded in wholesale and retail trade (-34,100 or -1.1%); manufacturing (-9,300 or -0.5%); and public administration (-7,600 or -0.6%).

By province – employment: Employment increased in eight provinces in November. The largest increases were recorded in Alberta (+28,700 or +1.1%), British Columbia (+6,200 or +0.2%), Ontario (+6,100 or +0.1%), and New Brunswick (+5,500 or +1.4%). Meanwhile, employment declined slightly in Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

By province – unemployment rate: The unemployment rate decreased in six provinces in November. The largest decreases were recorded in Alberta (-1.3 ppts), New Brunswick (-1.3 ppts) and Prince Edward Island (-0.8 ppts). Meanwhile, the unemployment rate increased in Newfoundland and Labrador (+0.3 ppts) and Manitoba (+0.3 ppts). Quebec (5.1%) had the lowest unemployment rate in the country, followed by Saskatchewan (5.6%) and Manitoba (6.1%).