OTTAWA, Ontario - Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 6.7 per cent in October 2026 as employment edged down by 4,700 jobs, Statistics Canada reported on November 6, while British Columbia moved the other way, adding 12,000 jobs and seeing its unemployment rate fall to 6.3 per cent.
National employment was little changed in October, down 4,700 (0.0 per cent) to 21,100,000. The unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points from 6.5 per cent in September. The participation rate held at 64.8 per cent, unchanged from September, and the employment rate slipped 0.1 percentage points to 60.5 per cent.
The October result follows September, when employment fell by 68,000 and the unemployment rate rose to 6.5 per cent. October’s small national decline, paired with a rising jobless rate, suggests more Canadians entered or re-entered the labour force looking for work than found it.
Average hourly wages rose 2.2 per cent year over year in October, up $0.83 to $37.89, following growth of 2.4 per cent in September. Wage growth continues to outpace the pace of hiring, a pattern that matters for Surrey households weighing job changes against the cost of living.
B.C. added 12,000 jobs
British Columbia was one of the brighter spots in the October report. Employment in the province increased by 12,000 (0.4 per cent) to 2,941,300, and the unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 6.3 per cent, down 0.3 points from a year earlier. The province’s participation rate was 64.7 per cent and its employment rate 60.7 per cent.
For Surrey job seekers, the provincial gain is encouraging, but the national picture is cooler: a 6.7 per cent unemployment rate is the highest since the post-pandemic hiring surge faded, and the back-to-back soft months in September and October point to a labour market that is no longer adding jobs fast enough to absorb everyone looking for work.
(Source: Statistics Canada, The Daily, Labour Force Survey, October 2026, November 6, 2026)
