Canada Loses 112,000 Jobs Over Four Months, Most Since 2021

A employee sorts batteries on a conveyor belt at a recycling facility in Port Colborne, Ontario.

Photographer: James MacDonald/Bloomberg

The Canadian economy has shed 112,000 jobs so far this year, the weakest four-month stretch since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.

Employment fell by 17,700 in April while more people looked for work, pushing the unemployment rate up to 6.9%. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg were expecting an increase of 10,000 jobs and for the jobless rate to hold steady at 6.7%.