Canada’s Unemployment Rate Climbs to 7-Year High in August, Reaching 6.6 Percent

A "Now Hiring" sign is displayed on a business in Montreal in a file photo. Statistics Canada released its latest snapshot of how the job market is doing in the country. The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi

Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.6 percent in August, going up by 0.2 percent since July’s 6.4 percent, Statistics Canada’s labour force survey says.

The rate is at its the highest point since May 2017 apart from the pandemic years, StatCan said.

The summer job market proved to be exceptionally tough for students this year, with the unemployment rate in this group climbing to the highest level seen since the summer of 2012, excluding the pandemic summer of 2020, the newly released survey found.

The unemployment rate for students returning to school full-time in the fall was 16.7 percent on average between May and August, up nearly 4 percent from last year’s rate of 12.9 percent, StatCan said.

The rate increased for students of all ages but was highest among the 15 to 16 age group, rising from 22.1 percent in 2023 to 27 percent this year. Students aged 17 to 19 experienced an unemployment rate of 17.7 percent, marking an increase from the 12.5 percent in 2023.

Older students—those aged 20 to 24—had an unemployment rate of 11.1 percent, up from 8.3 percent last summer.

Overall, the unemployment rate reached 1.5 million people in August, a 22.9 percent increase from the same month the prior year, according to StatCan figures.

The survey found that of those who were unemployed in July, 16.7 percent found work in August, a smaller share than in August 2023.

The Bank of Canada announced its third consecutive interest rate cut of 2024 on Sept. 4, bringing it down from 4.5 percent to 4.25 percent. One of the goals of the cuts is to stimulate the economy and boost the job market, Governor Tiff Macklem has said.

The economy experienced a modest increase of 22,000 jobs last month, failing to keep pace with the rate of population growth.

Employment increased last month in the educational services, health care, social assistance and finance, insurance, real estate, rental, and leasing sectors but fell in the professional, scientific and technical services, utilities, and natural resources categories.

Despite reduced hiring rates, many workers have benefited from swift wage growth, enabling some to regain the purchasing power they lost during the pandemic, StatCan found. Average hourly wages rose 5 percent last month over August of 2023, reaching $35.16.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.