Canada’s December 2025 Labour Market Report

Canada’s December Labour Force Survey (reference week Dec 7–13, 2025) shows a labour market that held steady on hiring, but heated up on competition as more people entered (or re-entered) the job hunt.

The headline numbers

• Employment: +8,200 (flat) and the employment rate held at 60.9%.
• Unemployment rate: up to 6.8% (+0.3 pts), driven by more people looking for work.
• Labour force participation rose to 65.4% (+0.3 pts), which explains much of the unemployment increase.
• Full-time jobs rose (+50,000) while part-time fell (-42,000). That mix matters for workforce planning and scheduling.
• Wage growth (average hourly wage) was +3.4% YoY to $37.06 (not seasonally adjusted).

The real story: More job seekers showed up in December

Unemployment rose because the labour force grew by ~81,000 while employment was essentially unchanged.

Employer implication: if you’re hiring, you may notice more applicants per posting in some markets. But that does not automatically translate into “easier hiring,” because:

• the right candidates are still concentrated in specific occupations/industries, and
• a growing share of labour supply is coming from groups with different constraints (students, newcomers, people balancing multiple income sources).

“An uptick in unemployment doesn’t automatically mean hiring just got easier. What we’re competition, but it doesn’t change the fact that critical skills remain scarce. Employers who slow down or oversimplify what this data means risk missing strong talent they need to achieve their business goals,” explains Craig Brown, CEO, Agilus Work Solutions.

Age dynamics: Youth cooled off, 55+ kept hiring stable

December’s employment change wasn’t evenly distributed:

• Youth (15–24): employment fell by 27,000 and unemployment rose to 13.3% (+0.5 pts).
• Core-age (25–54): unemployment rose to 6.0% as job search increased (men and women both +0.4 pts).
• 55+: employment rose by 33,000 and unemployment fell to 5.1%.

What this means for employers:

• If your frontline model relies heavily on students/youth, expect more uncertainty (availability, retention, exam schedules, seasonal exits).
• If you’re struggling to staff reliably, the data supports a practical shift: design roles intentionally for 55+ candidates (predictable shifts, reduced physical strain where possible, clear training pathways). This cohort is still showing resilience in employment.

Industry signals: Health care keeps pulling. Professional services slipped.

Employment gains were concentrated in a few areas:

Up in December:

• Health care and social assistance: +20,800 (+0.7%) (and strong over the year).
• Other services (personal/repair, etc.): +15,300 (+2.0%)

Down in December:

• Professional, scientific and technical services: -18,100 (-0.9%)
• Accommodation and food services: -12,300 (-1.0%)
• Finance/real estate/rental/leasing: -10,200 (-0.7%)

Employer implication: “Professional services fell” is not the same as “professional hiring is easy now.” StatCan also notes the industry was roughly unchanged year-over-year despite the monthly dip, so this can reflect timing, project cycles, and year-end pauses.

Provincial snapshots

A few provinces saw meaningful shifts.

Ontario

• Employment +12,700, but the labour force jumped +64,400, pushing the unemployment rate up to 7.9% (+0.6 pts).
  More candidates are looking, but hiring did not keep pace. Employers may see higher applicant volume, especially in the GTA.

Quebec

• Employment +15,500, but unemployment still rose to 5.4% because more people entered job search.

Alberta

• Employment -13,700 and unemployment 6.8% (+0.3 pts).

Saskatchewan

• Employment -4,000 and unemployment jumped to 6.5% (+0.9 pts).

Wage reality check: Growth is slowing, but pay pressure is still uneven

Average hourly wages were $37.06 (+3.4% YoY).

But employers should pay attention to occupation-level wage differentials, because they explain why some roles remain stubbornly hard to fill even when unemployment rises:

• Management occupations: ~$60/hour
• Natural & applied sciences: ~$49/hour
• Health occupations: ~$38.88/hour
• Trades/transport/equipment operators: ~$33.98/hour
• Sales & service: ~$24.13/hour

Also notable: temporary employees averaged ~$29.52/hour vs permanent ~$38.02/hour, a reminder that “flexibility” can come with a comp expectation gap depending on role and sector.

Gig work is stable overall, but rising among recent immigrants

Digital platform work remained 2.3% of Canadians aged 15–69 (667,000 people), stable year-over-year.
But among recent immigrants, 8.4% did platform work in the past year, about 6x the rate of Canadian-born workers (1.5%), and it increased year-over-year for recent immigrants.

Employer implication:
If you’re hiring in roles competing with gig platforms (delivery, service, light industrial, some entry-level roles), expect more candidates to evaluate your job through a “gig lens”:

• schedule control
• speed to start
• predictability of earnings
• day-to-day autonomy

This is less about “people don’t want to work” and more about gig work design competing with traditional work design.

What Canadian employers should do next

1. Treat December as a competition shift, not a demand crash. If candidate flow rises, tighten screening and speed up decision cycles so good candidates don’t churn out mid-process.
2. Re-check your workforce mix. Full-time rose while part-time fell. If your model relies on part-time coverage, confirm your pipeline and availability assumptions.
3. Pressure-test pay bands with role-specific reality. A rising unemployment rate doesn’t remove wage pressure in high-skill pockets.
4. Build an intentional 55+ hiring pathway for stability roles (operations, admin, dispatch, customer service, certain technical support roles). The data suggests this cohort is still eager for employment and adding value.
5. Design around gig competition where relevant: clearer schedules, faster onboarding, realistic earnings transparency, and fewer hoops to start.

Conclusion

December’s labour data reinforces an important reality: headline numbers don’t hire people but decisions do. While unemployment has risen, competition for the right talent remains uneven across regions and roles. Employers who rely on surface-level interpretations risk misreading availability, compensation pressure, and candidate behaviour in their specific market.

This is where local, role-specific insight matters.

About Agilus Work Solutions

Agilus works with Canadian employers to translate labour market data into practical hiring strategy: from understanding where talent supply is genuinely loosening, to identifying where skills remain constrained, and adjusting workforce plans accordingly. Whether you’re planning for early-2026 hiring, reassessing compensation expectations, or navigating shifting candidate behaviour, having the right context can materially change outcomes.

About Agilus Work Solutions Agilus Work Solutions has partnered with employers in Canda for nearly 50 years to help businesses hire for impact, not just headcount. We connect workers and employers in the engineering, technology, life sciences, professional, and industrial sectors. Follow us on LinkedIn and learn more about our workforce solutions.

We are Experts in specialized talent. Built for how you work.

FAQs for employers

Q1. If unemployment is rising, why does hiring still feel difficult?

A. Because the increase is being driven largely by more people entering the labour force, not by widespread job losses. Many candidates entering the market do not align with high-demand roles, particularly in technical, professional, and regulated occupations.

Q2. Does higher applicant volume mean employers can slow down hiring?

A. In practice, no. Increased competition among candidates often coincides with longer decision cycles, which can cause strong candidates to exit the process. Employers that maintain speed and clarity in hiring tend to outperform those that pause or overcorrect.

Q3. Why does full-time growth matter more than the headline employment number?

A. The shift toward full-time roles signals employer demand for stability and continuity, while the decline in part-time employment can tighten availability for coverage-based or flexible scheduling models.

Q4. What should employers take from the strong performance of workers aged 55+?

A. Older workers continue to show reliable labour market attachment. Employers struggling with retention or schedule reliability may benefit from intentional role design that attracts experienced workers seeking stability rather than advancement.

Q5. Are wage pressures easing as unemployment rises?

Not evenly. While average wage growth has moderated, occupation-level wage expectations remain firm in high-skill and regulated roles. Employers should avoid using national averages to make role-specific compensation decisions.