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yesterday

Canada Unemployment Rises to 6.8% in December as Job Growth Stalls

The rate rose because labour‑force growth outpaced hiring.

Workers pass through MHI Canada Aerospace manufacturing facility in Mississauga, Ont., on Friday, Sept. 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan
Newly released unemployment figures from Statistics Canada peg unemployment in the province at 6.6 per cent in December. It was 7.7 per cent 12 months ago.
The unemployment rate in Ontario was 7.9 per cent in December 2025, and the percentage point change from November 2025 to December 2025 was +0.6.
Alexander Morning of Lakeside hauls wire for a traffic sign through conduit so he had enough slack to work at Grand Avenue and Wellington Road in London. Photograph taken on Wednesday Jan. 7, 2026. (Mike Hensen/The London Free Press)

Overview

  • Statistics Canada said employment was essentially flat in December, with a net gain of 8,200 and the unemployment rate rising to 6.8%.
  • Ontario’s unemployment rate climbed to 7.9%, a 0.6‑percentage‑point increase from November.
  • London reached 7.6%, its highest reading of 2025 and the highest since April 2016 outside pandemic years.
  • Kingston’s rate rose to 6.2% even as employment edged up, and Statistics Canada cautioned that city figures are three‑month averages that can swing due to small samples.
  • Hiring was concentrated in full‑time roles in health care and other services, while professional, scientific and technical services, utilities, and accommodation and food services lost workers; youths aged 15–24 shed 27,000 jobs and wage growth eased to 3.4% year over year, with the next jobs report due Feb. 6.