Monthly Jobs Report

Every month, Adecco Canada interprets the data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. Here’s what happened in May:

Labour market shows employment increase driven by full-time gains

Canada’s labour market improved in May, with employment increasing by 88,000 (+0.4%). Employment gains were entirely driven by full-time work, while part-time employment declined.

The employment rate rose to 60.7%, partially offsetting earlier declines observed earlier in the year. Employment gains were observed across several industries and provinces, although changes were uneven across sectors.

Unemployment rate declines as gains in core-aged employment and youth conditions improve

Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in May, down 0.3 percentage points from April. The rate had previously increased from a recent low of 6.5% in January to 6.9% in April. The decline in May coincided with employment gains among core-aged women and men.

Among youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate declined to 13.4%, the first decline since January.

Among core-aged workers, unemployment rates declined for both women and men alongside increases in employment. Employment among people aged 55 years and older was little changed in May, and their unemployment rate remained at 5.0%.

The layoff rate was 0.6% in May, little changed from a year earlier and in line with pre-pandemic averages.

Provincial labour market conditions show gains in several provinces, with mixed performance across regions

Provincial labour market conditions were mixed in May, with employment increases recorded in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. In contrast, Saskatchewan recorded a decline.

Ontario posted its second consecutive monthly increase in employment, while British Columbia also recorded gains following earlier declines. Alberta and Prince Edward Island both saw employment increases in May, while Quebec edged up after earlier declines earlier in the year.

The unemployment rate in Quebec fell 0.6 percentage points to 5.6% in May. In Ontario, the unemployment rate in the Toronto census metropolitan area declined 1.1 percentage points to 6.8%, reaching its lowest level since November 2023.

Employment declined in Saskatchewan in May, although employment in the province was little changed on a year-over-year basis.

Uneven hiring across industries

Industry hiring trends were mixed in May, with employment gains recorded in construction, information, culture and recreation, transportation and warehousing, accommodation and food services, and manufacturing.

In contrast, employment declined in wholesale and retail trade.

Spotlight: Work location trends continue to shift toward on-site work

In May 2026, the share of employed Canadians working exclusively outside the home increased to 78.8%, up 1.2 percentage points from May 2025 and 3.8 percentage points from May 2022. The proportion working exclusively from home declined by 1.0 percentage point from May 2025, while 9.8% of workers reported a hybrid arrangement, involving both home and on-site work.

Don’t have time for a long reading? We’ve summarized the key takeaways from this month:

• Employment increased by +0.4% in May (+88,000), the strongest monthly gain of 2026 to date, while the employment rate rose to 60.7%.
• The unemployment rate fell to 6.6% (−0.3 percentage points), partially offsetting earlier increases in 2026. It remains below levels observed in early 2025.
• Employment increased in Ontario (+0.5%), British Columbia (+0.9%), Alberta (+0.5%) and Prince Edward Island (+1.3%), while Saskatchewan (-1.0%) recorded a decline.
• Employment gains were broad-based, with increases among core-aged women (+0.5%), core-aged men (+0.3%) and youth (+0.8%). The youth unemployment rate declined to 13.4%, the first decline since January.
• Among industries, gains were led by construction (+1.7%), information, culture and recreation (+2.3%), transportation and warehousing (+1.7%), and accommodation and food services (+1.5%). In contrast, wholesale and retail trade (-1.2%) experienced a decline.
• Average hourly wages among employees increased +3.0% on a year-over-year basis in May (+$1.10 to $37.24).

References

Statistics Canada. (2026). Table 14-10-0287-01 Labour force characteristics, monthly, seasonally adjusted and trend-cycle, last 5 months [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/1410028701-eng

Statistics Canada. (2026). Table 14-10-0355-01 Employment by industry, monthly, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, and trend-cycle, last 5 months (x 1,000) [Data table]. https://doi.org/10.25318/1410035501-eng