Labour Force Survey, February 2025
Released: 2025-03-07
Highlights
Employment was virtually unchanged in February (+1,100; +0.0%) and the employment rate held steady at 61.1%. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.6%.
In February, employment rose among core-aged (25 to 54 years old) women (+27,000; +0.4%), while it fell among women aged 55 years and older (-15,000; -0.8%).
Employment increased in wholesale and retail trade (+51,000; +1.7%) as well as finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+16,000; +1.1%). There were declines in professional, scientific and technical services (-33,000; -1.6%) and transportation and warehousing (-23,000; -2.1%).
Employment fell in Nova Scotia (-4,300; -0.8%) and was little changed in all other provinces in February.
Total hours worked fell 1.3% in the month, but were up 0.5% compared with 12 months earlier.
Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.8% (+$1.32 to $36.14) on a year-over-year basis in February, following growth of 3.5% in January (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment holds steady in February
Employment held steady in February (+1,100; +0.0%), following three consecutive monthly increases totalling 211,000 (+1.0%) in November, December and January. On a year-over-year basis, employment was up by 387,000 (+1.9%) in February.
The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—was unchanged at 61.1% in February. This follows three consecutive months of increases. The employment rate had previously fallen 1.7 percentage points from April 2023 to October 2024, as employment growth was outpaced by population growth.
Chart 1
Employment rate unchanged in February
Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group, February 2025
Growth in the population aged 15 and older in the Labour Force Survey (LFS) has slowed in recent months. Growth in February 2025 (+47,000; +0.1%) was less than half that recorded 12 months earlier (+97,000; +0.3%), and the slowest since April 2022. According to the most recent official population estimates, the third quarter of 2024 saw the slowest quarterly population growth since the first quarter of 2022. More information on how population totals in the LFS are calculated can be found in the article "Interpreting population totals from the Labour Force Survey."
The number of employees in the private sector was little changed in February, following increases in December (+39,000; +0.3%) and January (+57,000; +0.4%). Public sector employment and self-employment were also both little changed in February.
Employment increases among core-aged women
Employment increased by 27,000 (+0.4%) among women in the core-age group (25 to 54 years old) in February, building on an increase in January (+36,000; +0.5%). The employment rate of core-aged women held steady at 80.5% in February and was up 0.4 percentage points from a recent low in December 2024.
For core-aged men, employment was little changed in February, following three consecutive months of increases totalling 90,000 (+1.3%) in November, December and January. The employment rate of core-aged men (86.7%) was also little changed in February, and up 0.4 percentage points from its recent low in October 2024.
Employment among people aged 55 years and older fell by 21,000 (-0.5%) in February. The decline was mostly among women in this age group (-15,000; -0.8%). On a year-over-year basis, employment was little changed for both women and men aged 55 and older.
Youth (15 to 24 years) employment was little changed in February, as was the youth employment rate (at 54.3%).
Snowstorms lead to lost work hours in February
Total actual hours worked fell 1.3% in February—the largest monthly decline since April 2022. On a year-over-year basis, total actual hours worked were up 0.5% in February 2025.
Notable winter storms buried parts of Central and Eastern Canada in snow throughout the LFS reference week of February 9 to February 15. In total, 429,000 employees lost work hours due to the weather for part of the week (not seasonally adjusted). This was more than four times higher than the average number of employees who lost work hours due to weather in February over the previous five years (96,000).
Unemployment rate unchanged at 6.6%
The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.6% in February, following decreases in December (-0.2 percentage points) and January (-0.1 percentage points). The unemployment rate had previously trended up, rising from 5.0% in March 2023 to reach a recent high of 6.9% in November 2024.
Chart 2
Unemployment rate unchanged in February
The unemployment rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 5.4% in February for core-aged women. For core-aged men, the rate rose 0.3 percentage points to 5.9%, driven by an increase in the number of job searchers.
Among youth, the unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage points to 12.9% in February, following a similar-sized decline in January (-0.6 percentage points). Over this two-month period, the number of young unemployed job searchers fell by 41,000 (-9.3%), while youth employment rose by 22,000 (+0.8%). The youth unemployment rate had previously touched a 12-year high (excluding the years 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic) of 14.2% in August and December 2024, following a strong upward trend throughout most of 2023 and 2024.
Labour force participation rate falls in February, led by a decline among youth
The labour force participation rate—that is, the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who were employed or looking for work—decreased by 0.2 percentage points to 65.3% in February, the first decrease since September 2024.
Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group, February 2025
The labour force participation rate was down in February among youth (-0.8 percentage points to 62.3%) and people aged 55 and older (-0.2 percentage points to 36.0%). At the same time, it was up among people in the core-age (+0.1 percentage points to 88.7%).
The youth participation rate in February (62.3%) was down by 1.2 percentage points compared with 12 months earlier. This decline was similar for students (-1.5 percentage points to 43.3%) and non-students (-1.6 percentage points to 86.0%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Wholesale and retail trade records largest employment gain, while professional, scientific and technical services posts a decline
In February, employment increased in wholesale and retail trade (+51,000; +1.7%). Employment in this industry has trended up in recent months, rising 107,000 (+3.7%) from a recent low point in July 2024 and offsetting declines in the first half of 2024. Compared with 12 months earlier, the number of people working in the industry was little changed.
More people worked in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+16,000; +1.1%) in February, the second increase in three months. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the industry was up by 60,000 (+4.3%).
Chart 3
Employment gains led by wholesale and retail trade offset by declines in other industries
In contrast, employment fell in February in professional, scientific and technical services (-33,000; -1.6%). Employment growth in this industry has been subdued in recent months, following a strong upward trend from July 2023 to November 2024.
Employment also fell in transportation and warehousing (-23,000; -2.1%) in February, following gains of 17,000 in December and 13,000 in January. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the industry was down by 29,000 (-2.6%).
Employment declines in Nova Scotia, holds steady in all other provinces
Employment declined in Nova Scotia in February (-4,300; -0.8%), all in part-time work. The unemployment rate in the province increased 0.7 percentage points to 6.6% in the month, but was little changed on a year-over-year basis.
In February, all provinces except Nova Scotia recorded little employment change. Across provinces, the unemployment rate in February was lowest in Quebec (5.3%), followed closely by Saskatchewan (5.4%), while it was highest in Newfoundland and Labrador (10.5%).
Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, February 2025
In Quebec, employment held steady for the third consecutive month in February. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province was up by 81,000 (+1.8%), with gains concentrated in the second half of 2024. The unemployment rate in the province held steady in February (at 5.3%) and was up 0.5 percentage points on a year-over-year basis, as more people searched for work.
In Ontario, employment was little changed (+17,000; +0.2%), following gains of 32,000 in December and 39,000 in January. The number of people searching for work in Ontario fell in February (-21,000; -3.1%), which contributed to lowering the unemployment rate in the province by 0.3 percentage points to 7.3%.
In the spotlight: Core-aged women more likely to work part-time and multiple jobs
March 8th is International Women's Day, a global day to recognize the achievements of women and girls and reflect on the progress made towards gender equality, while acknowledging the challenges and barriers that still exist.
In February 2025, the employment rate of core-aged (25 to 54 years) women was 80.5%, up 0.4 percentage points from a recent low in December 2024. The rate had previously reached a record high of 82.0% in January 2023, before trending down through most of 2023 and 2024. The employment rate of core-aged women in February remained above its pre-pandemic average from 2017 and 2019 (79.1%).
In February, women remained more likely than men to work part-time and hold multiple jobs. Among employed core-aged women, 15.7% worked part-time in their main job or business in February, compared with 6.1% of men in this age group. Caring for children was cited among almost one-quarter (24.3%) of women in this age group as the main reason for working part time (not seasonally adjusted).
At the same time, 7.6% of employed core-aged women worked multiple jobs in February, compared with 5.2% of employed core-aged men (not seasonally adjusted). The proportion of women working multiple jobs was notably high in accommodation and food services (10.9%), health care and social assistance (10.7%) and educational services (9.8%).
In February, core-aged women earned $36.04 per hour on average, which was $4.98 (or 12.1%) less on average than men ($41.02) (not seasonally adjusted). In other words, women in this age group earned $0.88 for every dollar earned by men. In general, the gender wage gap in Canada has narrowed from 18.8% since 1998 due to factors such as women's increased educational attainment and the decline in the share of men in unionized employment.
In the Spotlight: More people willing to move to another province for a suitable job in February 2025
As labour market conditions change, the ability or willingness of Canadians to move to a different region or province for a job can increase opportunities for employment and reduce potential mismatches between the needs of employers and the available workforce.
In February 2025, among people aged 18 to 64 who were in the labour force—including people who were employed, looking for work or on temporary layoff—3 in 10 (30.3%) reported that they would be willing to move to another province if a suitable job was offered (not seasonally adjusted). This share was up 3.5 percentage points from February 2022, when the unemployment rate was 1.1 percentage points lower (at 5.5%, compared with 6.6% in February 2025).
Chart 4
The proportion of the labour force willing to move to another province is highest in the Prairies and Newfoundland and Labrador
Men (32.9%) were more likely than women (27.4%) to report being willing to move to another province for a job in February 2025.
Provincially, the proportion of people in the labour force who reported that they would be willing to move to a different province was lowest in Quebec (25.5%) and New Brunswick (25.7%), while it was highest in Manitoba (35.7%), Saskatchewan (35.5%) and Newfoundland and Labrador (34.2%).
Across occupations, workers in natural and applied sciences and related occupations were most likely (35.6%) to report that they would be willing to move to a different province if a suitable job was offered.
In comparison, workers in management occupations (26.0%), education, law and social, community and government services (27.0%) and health occupations (27.8%) were least likely to report that they would be willing to move.
Personal or family considerations were by far the most common reasons for not being willing to move to another province for a job. In February 2025, 73.2% of people who reported not being willing to move to another province said this was mainly because of personal or family reasons, such as staying close to family and friends (60.9%) or because their immediate family would not want to move (9.1%).
In February, 5.3% of those not willing to move indicated this was mainly because of financial reasons, while a further 2.2% indicated this was mainly because of high housing costs elsewhere.
The lack of recognition of credentials outside the province can be a significant barrier to interprovincial labour mobility. However, it was rarely cited (0.5%) as the main reason for not being willing to move to another province for a job.
Did you know we have a mobile app?
Download our mobile app and get timely access to data at your fingertips! The StatsCAN app is available for free on the App Store and on Google Play.
Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Labour Force Survey is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:
Note to readers
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for February are for the week of February 9 to 15, 2025.
The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. For more information, see "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."
This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
LFS estimates at the Canada level do not include the territories.
The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labour market indicators released by Statistics Canada, which includes indicators from programs such as the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH); Employment Insurance Statistics; and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey. For more information on the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and those from the SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
Face-to-face personal interviewing resumed in November 2022. Telephone interviews continued to be conducted by interviewers working mainly from their homes rather than Statistics Canada's call centres, as they have since March 2020. About 50,000 interviews were completed in February 2025 and in-depth data quality evaluations conducted each month confirm that the LFS continues to produce an accurate portrait of Canada's labour market.
The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youths aged 15 to 24) is the number employed in that group as a percentage of the population for that group.
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force (employed and unemployed).
The participation rate is the number of employed and unemployed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older.
Full-time employment consists of persons who usually work 30 hours or more per week at their main or only job.
Part-time employment consists of persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week at their main or only job.
Total hours worked refers to the number of hours actually worked at the main job by the respondent during the reference week, including paid and unpaid hours. These hours reflect temporary decreases or increases in work hours (for example, hours lost due to illness, vacation, holidays or weather; or more hours worked due to overtime).
In general, month-to-month or year-to-year changes in the number of people employed in an age group reflect the net effect of two factors: (1) the number of people who changed employment status between reference periods, and (2) the number of employed people who entered or left the age group (including through aging, death or migration) between reference periods.
Seasonal adjustment
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted estimates, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Population growth in the Labour Force Survey
The LFS target population includes all persons aged 15 years and older whose usual place of residence is in Canada, with the exception of those living on reserves, full-time members of the regular Armed Forces and persons living in institutions (including inmates of penal institutions and patients in hospitals and nursing homes).
The LFS target population includes temporary residents—that is, those with a valid work or study permit, their families, and refugee claimants—as well as permanent residents (landed immigrants) and the Canadian-born.
Information gathered from LFS respondents is weighted to represent the survey target population using population calibration totals. These totals are updated each month, using the most recently available information on population changes, including changes in the number of non-permanent residents. LFS population calibration totals are derived from Canada's official population estimates using similar sources and methods, with minor adjustments being made to reflect exclusions from the LFS target population.
While the LFS population totals are generally aligned with official demographic estimates, numbers from the two sources should be compared with caution, given the different goals of the programs and because of a number of methodological differences reflecting the objectives of the LFS. Official demographic estimates should be considered the official measure of population change in Canada. More information on how population totals in the LFS are calculated can be found in the article "Interpreting population totals from the Labour Force Survey."
Next release
The next release of the LFS will be on April 4. March data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of March 9 to 15.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of the Labour Force Survey is available online in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
The product "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app" (14200001) is also available. This interactive visualization application provides seasonally adjusted estimates by province, sex, age group and industry.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province and census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted" (71-607-X) is also available. This interactive dashboard provides customizable access to key labour market indicators.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to labour market indicators for Canada, provinces, territories and economic regions.
The product "Labour market indicators, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and self-contained labour areas: Interactive dashboard" (71-607-X) is also available. This dashboard allows users to visually explore the estimates using an interactive map as well as time series charts and tables.
The product Labour Force Survey: Public Use Microdata File (71M0001X) is also available. This public use microdata file contains non-aggregated data for a wide variety of variables collected from the Labour Force Survey. The data have been modified to ensure that no individual or business is directly or indirectly identified. This product is for users who prefer to do their own analysis by focusing on specific subgroups in the population or by cross-classifying variables that are not in our catalogued products.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
- Date modified: