‘Data for Business’ is an effort of the Langley Chamber, in partnership with the Canadian Chamber’s Business Data Lab, to bring our members reports, stats, and analysis on economic and business data to help inform business and investment decisions. Read our latest update below:

Canada’s labour market showed signs of renewed strength in May, with employment gains across several key sectors and BC posting one of the largest provincial increases in the country.

While businesses continue to face uncertainty from tariffs, global instability, and cost pressures, the latest Labour Force Survey points to growth in areas that matter to Langley and the Fraser Valley economy, including construction, manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and accommodation and food services.

Key Takeaways

Employment Levels: In May, Canada experienced its first month of most significant employment gain since the beginning of 2026, added over 88,000 new workers to the economy, clawing back nearly 80% of the net employment lost since January 2026. Employment rate rose 0.2 percentage points month-over-month to 60.7% in May — the first increase since November 2025.

Unemployment and Participation Rates: Though participation rate remained unchanged at 65%, the unemployment rate fell 0.3 percentage points month-over-month to 6.6%, retreating from April’s recent high of 6.9%. Importantly, the decline was driven by real, absolute gains in employment rather than a shrinking labour force.

Demographics and Job Types: After months of weak hiring, May recorded its strongest full-time employment gain since November 2025, adding 154,000 full-time jobs, fully offsetting the 156,000 full-time positions lost between January and April. Part-time employment declined by 66,000 in the same month.  Both youth and core-aged workers shared the gains, with unemployment rates falling 0.9 and 0.4 percentage points to 13.4% and 5.6% respectively, month-over-month. Youth accounted for roughly 25% of total employment gains, with the remainder split between core-aged men and women, with marginally more women added to the employed pool.

Sectoral Breakdown: Employment gains were broad-based, spanning both goods-producing and services industries. Construction led all sectors with +27,000 jobs, followed by information, culture and recreation (+19,000), transportation and warehousing (+19,000), and accommodation and food services (+17,000). Manufacturing also added 15,000 jobs, though the sector remains under pressure from U.S. tariff uncertainty. The only significant drag came from wholesale and retail trade, which shed 35,000 jobs.

Provincial Trends: Provincial gains were also broad-based, with 7 out of 10 provinces recording a decline or no change in their unemployment rates. Ontario led all provinces, adding 42,000 jobs, followed by BC which saw 25,000 jobs added. Alberta and Quebec rounded out the gains at +14,000 and +13,000 respectively, while Saskatchewan was the only province to record a notable employment decline (-6,100). 

Commentary:

“After months of labour market weakness, Canada added 88,000 jobs in May, clawing back nearly 80% of the employment lost over the first four months of the year. The gains were broad based: youth unemployment surged by 22,000, driving the youth unemployment rate down nearly a full percentage point to 13.4%, while core-aged workers also posted solid gains. Critically, virtually all of the gain was in full-time work, spanning both goods-producing and services sector.”  - Anupriya Gangopadhyay, Economist, Canadian Chamber of Commerce