Payroll data weakens: Statistics Canada

Labour market conditions weakened in December, with payrolls shrinking, vacancies rising and wage growth slowing, according to data from Statistics Canada.

In a report Thursday, the national statistical agency reported that payroll employment declined by 35,400 in December, resulting in an overall drop in payrolls for the year, which were down by 28,300 for 2025.

The decline in December payrolls was led by the manufacturing sector, down by 7,400 workers, followed by declines in wholesale trade (down 6,300), transportation and warehousing (down by 5,900), and accommodation and food services (down 5,000).

Payrolls dropped in nine of 20 sectors overall, the report said, while the only sectors to record gains were the construction and health-care industries, which saw gains of 2,600 and 2,300 workers, respectively.

Alongside the drop in payrolls, job vacancies rose in December.

While the number of unfilled jobs was still down a bit for the full year, the data showed that in December, the number of vacancies increased by 23,700, pushing the total to 514,600 vacant positions.

Against that backdrop, wage growth slowed too. Year over year, average weekly earnings were up 1.9% in December, following a 2.3% increase in November.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.