Jobs

Payrolls fall 49,600 in August, led by public administration

Statistics Canada says payroll employment dropped 0.3% in August, a second straight decline, with a federal pullback after Census hiring doing much of the damage. Wages kept rising and job vacancies held steady at 507,200.

By John Wilson · October 29, 2026

Canadian employers had 49,600 fewer people on their payrolls in August than in July, Statistics Canada said Thursday. That is a 0.3% drop and the second monthly decline in a row, after payrolls edged down by 15,700 (0.1%) in July. Employment fell in 10 of the 20 sectors the agency tracks.

The payroll survey counts jobs from employer records, so it lags the monthly Labour Force Survey by several weeks. It confirms what the household survey has already suggested: hiring cooled through the late summer, even as the economy as a whole was growing.

Where the jobs went

Public administration did the most damage, shedding 22,300 positions (1.6%). Federal public administration alone fell by 15,900, or 4.1%, and local and municipal governments lost 5,900. Statistics Canada said the recent federal pattern largely reflects temporary staffing tied to the 2026 Census, which means some of the decline is a planned wind-down, not a layoff wave.

The private-sector losses were smaller but spread out. Accommodation and food services lost 6,800 jobs (0.5%) after net gains earlier in the spring. Information and cultural industries fell by 5,000 (1.4%), construction by 4,500 (0.4%) and retail trade by 4,400 (0.2%). Over twelve months, total payroll employment is still up 57,200, or 0.3%.

Pay keeps climbing

Average weekly earnings rose 0.5% in the month to $1,354.55 and were 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from 3.2% growth in July. Average weekly hours were 33.4, little changed. Among the provinces, New Brunswick (6.0%), B.C. (5.2%) and Manitoba (5.1%) posted the biggest yearly gains in weekly earnings, while Quebec trailed at 1.7%.

Statistics Canada cautions that average earnings can rise when lower-paid jobs disappear, because the mix of workers shifts, so a wage gain during job losses partly reflects who is left on the payroll.

Vacancies have stopped falling

Employers reported 507,200 job vacancies, little changed for the eighth month in a row and 5.4% more than a year earlier. The vacancy rate held at 2.8%. There were 2.9 unemployed people for every opening, down from 3.3 in August 2025. Health care and social assistance was the only sector with fewer vacancies than a year ago (down 8,300), while openings rose in accommodation and food services, transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing.

The other side of the ledger

The weak jobs data lands a day after two signals pointing the other way. Statistics Canada reported Wednesday that real GDP grew 0.8% in the second quarter, the largest quarterly gain since the trade conflict with the United States began, The Hub reported. The same day, the Bank of Canada raised its policy rate to 2.5% to keep high energy prices from spreading into broader inflation.

That leaves a mixed picture. Output is recovering and wages are running ahead of inflation, which the Bank of Canada says has been around 3% since April. But a large share of the recent job losses is in the public sector and youth unemployment has climbed to 14.6%, the highest since 2010, according to The Hub. September payroll data comes out on Nov. 26.

What it means for you

For most households, the August numbers argue for a modest buffer more than for alarm. Job openings are steady, but hiring has slowed and rates just went up, which squeezes borrowers. If you work in a sector that is shedding jobs or on a temporary contract, it is a reasonable time to review how many months of expenses your emergency savings would cover. This is general information, not personal financial advice.

Sources

General news and information, not individualized financial advice. Figures reflect the publication date.