Canada's unemployment rate rises to 6.8 pct in December


By Lin Wei
  • World
  • Saturday, 10 Jan 2026

OTTAWA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Canada's unemployment rate rose to 6.8 percent in December, Statistics Canada announced Friday.

The increase in December partially offsets a cumulative decline of 0.6 percentage points in the previous two months, said the national statistical agency.

There were 1.6 million people unemployed in December, an increase of 73,000 in the month, added the agency.

According to the agency, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 rose to 13.3 percent. Labor market conditions had previously improved for youth in October and November, with employment rising and the youth unemployment rate falling 1.9 percentage points over this period.

In 2025, the labor market faced headwinds, in part due to the economic uncertainty introduced by the threat or imposition of tariffs on exports to the United States, said Statistics Canada.

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