Canada Loses 24,800 Jobs in January, Unemployment at 6.5%

OTTAWA, Canada lost 24,800 jobs in January, marking an unexpected downturn in the labor market, though the unemployment rate fell to a 16-month low of 6.5 percent as fewer people sought work, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

The figures surprised economists, who had anticipated a gain of 7,000 jobs and a steady unemployment rate of 6.8 percent. The decline in the jobless rate, the lowest since September 2024, occurred across most demographic groups, including youth aged 15 to 24, where it dropped to 12.8 percent from 13.3 percent, and among men and women aged 25 and older, falling to 5.4 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. This improvement stemmed primarily from a decrease in labor force participation, which slid 0.4 percentage points to 65.0 percent, the lowest in recent months.

Full-time employment provided some offset, rising by 44,900 positions, while part-time jobs fell sharply by 69,700. As a result, the overall employment rate dipped 0.1 percentage points to 60.8 percent, ending a streak of gains and marking the first decline since August 2025. The total number of employed Canadians stood at 21,121,200, down from 21,146,000 in December, while the number of unemployed...