Jobs added but unemployment increased: 1)Canada adds surprise 60,000 jobs in September, unemployment rate steady at 7.1%; 2) Barrie’s September unemployment rate increase highest in Ontario: StatCan

1)Canada adds surprise 60,000 jobs in September, unemployment rate steady at 7.1%

Courtesy Barrie360.com and Canadian Press

By Craig Lord, October 10, 2025

The labour market added an unexpected 60,000 jobs in September, led by gains in the tariff-struck manufacturing sector.

Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 per cent last month.

Economists had called for a gain of just 5,000 jobs in September, coming off losses of more than 100,000 positions over the previous two months.

StatCan said gains were concentrated in full-time work with 106,000 positions added in September, more than offsetting a drop in part-time work.

The agency said total employment is up a modest 22,000 net jobs since the start of the year as U.S. tariffs continue to put pressure on critical Canadian industries.

The trade-sensitive manufacturing industry saw its first job gains since January last month and led job growth among other sectors with 28,000 positions added. Before last month, manufacturing had seen a net loss of 58,000 jobs so far in 2025.

The health care and social assistance sector and agriculture industry were also contributing to job growth last month.

The wholesale and retail trade industry lost 21,000 positions in September, but StatCan noted the sector is still up by 61,000 positions year-over-year. The transportation and construction sectors were also shedding jobs in September.

Average hourly wages were up 3.3 per cent year-over-year last month, a tick higher than the rate seen in August.

The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 rose two tenths of a point to 14.7 per cent in September – a 15-year high, outside the pandemic years – as students returning to school continued to struggle finding work after a tough summer jobs market.

The jobless rate among youth attending school was 17.1 per cent, up 3.1 percentage points from September 2024, StatCan said.

The September jobs report will mark the Bank of Canada’s last look at the labour market before its next interest rate decision on Oct. 29.

The central bank cut its policy rate by a quarter point to 2.5 per cent last month as it said the balance of risks in the economy was shifting away from higher prices and toward weaker growth.

This is a corrected story. A previous version said the youth unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points in September when in fact the rate increased 0.2 percentage points from August.

2) Barrie’s September unemployment rate increase highest in Ontario: StatCan

Source Barrie 360

By Julius Hern, October 10, 2025

Barrie’s unemployment rate increased by 0.7 per cent between August and September, the most of any other municipality in StatCan’s September jobs report.

From month to month, unemployment in the city rose from 7 per cent to 7.7 per cent along with the employment level, which dropped by nearly 2,000 workers.

The next largest rise in unemployment rate province-wide was shared by three other cities (0.3 per cent), while Belleville-Quinte West’s 0.9 per cent drop was the biggest drop in Ontario..

StatCan says that the biggest demographics that saw losses included young students due to a difficult summer student job market in 2025. Unemployment for ages 15 to 24 rose 1.3 per cent to 17.8 per cent in the province.

September also marks four consecutive months of little change in the unemployment rate of those 55 years and older, which rose to 5.5 per cent nationally.

Provincially, the unemployment rate rose from 7.7 per cent to 7.9 per cent. The hardest hit industry was public administration, which experienced an 1.5 per cent drop in employment, equivalent to around 7,100 workers. There was also a 2.5 per cent drop in overall part-time work, amounting to a decrease of over 36,000 workers.

Growth highlights in Ontario include a 0.7 per cent rise in full-time employment, while agriculture was had the largest monthly increase in employment of any provincial sector (8.9 per cent.)

Nationally, the unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 per cent last month. StatCan said 106,000 full-time positions were added in September.

The September jobs report will mark the Bank of Canada’s last look at the labour market before its next interest rate decision on Oct. 29. Its last decision resulted in a quarter-point cut to 2.5 per cent.

BARRIE EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS

August 2025 September 2025 August to September 2025 September 2024 to September 2025 August to September 2025 September 2024 to September 2025

Population 209.8 209.8 0.0 3.4 0.0 1.6

Labour force 138.4 137.4 -1.0 -2.5 -0.7 -1.8

Employment 128.7 126.8 -1.9 -4.9 -1.5 -3.7

Unemployment 9.7 10.6 0.9 2.4 9.3 29.3

Participation rate 66.0 65.5 -0.5 -2.3 — —

Unemployment rate 7.0 7.7 0.7 1.8 — —

Employment rate 61.3 60.4 -0.9 -3.4 — —

thousands (except rates) thousands (except rates) change in thousands (except rates) change in thousands (except rates) % change % change