Unemployment in Canada
Canada's unemployment rate over the last decade generally remained within a moderate range, reflecting the country's stable and growing economy. The COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant spike in 2020, but a strong recovery followed. By 2022, the rate was below pre-pandemic levels, though unemployment saw a notable jump in 2024 due to the large number of people joining the labor market coupled with mediocre economic growth.
The unemployment rate in Canada averaged 6.9% in the decade to 2022, above the 6.3% average for major economies. The unemployment rate in 2022 was 5.3%. For more unemployment information, visit our dedicated page.
Canada Unemployment Chart
Note: This chart displays Unemployment Rate for Canada from 2014 to 2023.
Source: Macrobond.
Canada Unemployment Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment (% of active population, aop) | 9.7 | 7.5 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 6.4 |
| Unemployment (% of active population, eop) | 8.9 | 5.9 | 5.0 | 5.8 | 6.7 |
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects Canadian unemployment projections for the next ten years from a panel of 23 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable unemployment forecast available for Canadian unemployment.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our Canadian unemployment projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of Canadian unemployment forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.