Optencis
Canada's unemployment rate rose to 6.7% in October, up from 6.5% in September and above the 6.5% economists had expected, according to data released on 6 November 2026 at 13:30 UTC. Employment slipped modestly over the month, while forecasts had pointed to a gain of 14.6K jobs. Bloomberg reported that more people looked for work at the same time, a mix that points to ongoing softness in the Canadian labour market.
What happened
The October labour force survey brought two disappointments at once. The jobless rate moved up by 0.2 percentage points, and the number of people in work fell slightly rather than growing. Bloomberg described the employment decline as modest, but it came after a much sharper drop of 68.3K jobs in September, so the labour market has now gone two months without job gains. Part of the rise in unemployment came from more people entering the job search. When the labour force grows faster than the number of jobs, the unemployment rate goes up even if few people lose their work.
The figures against expectations
Economists had expected the unemployment rate to hold at 6.5%, the same level as in September. The actual 6.7% reading is therefore a clear miss on the weak side. On employment, the consensus called for a rebound of 14.6K after the September loss. Instead, the figure stayed in negative territory. Taken together, the two numbers paint a picture of a labour market that is not absorbing new job seekers, rather than one that is shedding workers at a fast pace. That distinction matters for how economists read the report.
- 1More job seekersMore people looked for work
- 2Employment dipsJobs fell modestly in October
- 3Jobless rate climbsUnemployment reaches 6.7%
Why traders follow Canadian jobs data
Monthly employment figures are among the most closely watched releases for the Canadian dollar (CAD). The Bank of Canada (BoC), the country's central bank, uses the labour market as one of its main gauges of how much slack there is in the economy. Rising unemployment can ease pressure on wages and, over time, on prices, which feeds into the bank's thinking about its policy rate, the interest rate it sets for the economy. Because rate expectations play a large role in currency values, a report that differs from forecasts often leads traders to reassess pairs such as USD/CAD around the release time. The October data landed at the same time of day as many other North American indicators, which is why currency markets tend to be active in the minutes after 13:30 UTC on these release days.
Read alsoUS payrolls rise by 165,000 in October, far above forecasts, as unemployment dips to 4.1%What to watch next
The key question is whether October is part of a lasting trend or a temporary blip. Two soft months in a row put more focus on the next labour reports and on any comments from BoC officials about the jobs market. Analysts will also look at whether the growth in people looking for work continues, since a larger labour force can lift unemployment even when job losses are small. Wage figures and broader activity data will help show whether the softness is spreading to the rest of the economy.
Sources: Bloomberg, ForexFactory.
