OTTAWA, May 8 (Reuters) - Canada's unemployment rate rose to a six-month high in April to 6.9% as the economy lost a net of 17,700 jobs in March, Statistics Canada data showed on Friday, indicating a continued weakness in the labor market which has struggled in the face of U.S. tariffs and trade uncertainty.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted net job gains of 15,000 and an unemployment rate of 6.7%, almost mirroring the month of March when employment rose by 14,100 and the jobless rate was the same.
The Bank of Canada said in its Monetary Policy Report last month that indicators such as the employment rate, hours worked and job vacancies suggest slack, or underutilized capacity, in the labor market, although layoffs remain modest.
The looming uncertainty around the future of the North American free trade deal and the knock-on impacts of the higher prices from the Iran war has continued to layer over the impact of U.S. tariffs on the economy for over a year.
The job losses were completely concentrated in full-time jobs, which lost a net of 46,700 people, offset only by a gain of 29,000 jobs in the part-time sector.
The net overall decline in employment over the first four months of 2026 was concentrated in full-time work, which fell
by 111,000 between January and April, StatsCan said.
Average hourly wages of permanent employees, a metric closely tracked by the BoC to gauge the rise in inflation expectations, grew 4.8% from a year earlier, versus 5.1% in March.
The participation rate - the portion of the population over the age of 15 that is economically active - edged up to 65% in April from 64.9% in the prior month, StatsCan said.
A higher participation rate along with a higher unemployment rate indicates more people were searching for work in the economy.
The unemployment rate among the core-aged workforce of 25-54 year-olds as well as among the youth increased to 6% and 14.3% respectively.
The goods-producing sector, which is the most exposed to U.S. tariffs, saw employment drop by 26,800 jobs in April, while the services sector, where four out of every five people are employed in Canada, reported a 9,100 job gain.
The Canadian dollar was trading down 0.6% to C$1.3673 against the U.S. dollar, or 73.14 U.S. cents. Yields on the two-year government bonds were down 8.4 basis points to 2.501%.
Money markets are pricing in one 25 basis point rate hike in October to 2.5%.
Reporting by Promit Mukherjee; Editing by Dale Smith, Alexandra Hudson
