Statistics Canada has an unemployment rate of 6.9%, with most of the cuts in manufacturing.
Canada's unemployment rate jumped to its highest level since November as tariffs from U.S. President Donald Trump impacted the export-dependent economy.
Statistics Canada showed a 0.2% increase in April, bringing the country's unemployment rate to 6.9%.
The 6.9 figure matches the November unemployment rate, an eight-year high outside the pandemic era.
The agency noted that the impact of U.S. tariffs on the country's manufacturing industry lost 31,000 jobs per month. Wholesale, retail and trade sectors cut 27,000 jobs.
Three months after the three-month change, employment in the public sector increased by 23,000% or 0.5%, especially as temporary employment increased in the federal election held on April 28.
The average hourly wage growth for permanent employees is a closely watched indicator of the central bank’s approach to measuring inflation trends, with April at 3.5 per cent and has not changed since March.
Overall, the number of jobs in April was largely flat, with the lowest net gains of 7,400 jobs - slightly higher than analysts' expectations of 6.8%. This is the opposite of the 32,600 jobs last month.
In March, the employment rate or the proportion of working-age population employed was 60.8%. The Bureau of Statistics said it was a six-month low. As population growth outweighs employment growth, employment rates have been lowered most of 2023 and 2024. However, population growth has not been high since February, but employment growth has slowed down.
"People who are unemployed continue to face more difficulties in April," Statscan said, adding that among those who were unemployed in March, 61% of those who were unemployed in April were unemployed, almost up from four percentage points a year ago.
Trump's tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum in March, as well as automobiles in April and import tariffs on a variety of reduced and exempted products affected businesses and households.
Bank of Canada warns that growth will take a major hit in the coming months as exports fall, prices rise, employment declines and layoffs accelerate. It said it will act decisively if the economy needs emergency support.
"In general, we're seeing a job market that is weak in a job market and now it looks like it's going to be deducted soon," Ali Jaffery, senior economist at CIBC Capital Markets told Reuters News.