The Weekly Review, December 1 to 5, 2025

December 5, 2025, 2:00 p.m. (EST)

Employment increases for the third consecutive month

Employment increased by 54,000 (+0.3%) in November 2025, the third consecutive monthly increase. The increase in employment in November was driven by gains in part-time work. Over the past three months, part-time employment has increased at a faster rate (+2.7%; +103,000) than full-time employment (+0.5%; +78,000). The employment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 60.9% in November, while the unemployment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 6.5%.

Source: Labour Force Survey, November 2025

Wheat production hits record high

Canadian farmers reported higher production for most crops in 2025, including wheat, canola, barley, oats, dry peas and lentils, but lower production for corn and soybeans. Total wheat production rose 11.2% year over year to a record 40.0 million tonnes in 2025, surpassing the previous record set in 2013.

Source: Production of principal field crops, November 2025

Domestic tourism: Canadian-resident visits within Canada increase

During the second quarter of 2025, Canadian residents took 90.6 million trips that included a domestic visit, up 10.9% on a year-over-year basis, From April to June, visitors from the United States and overseas countries made 8.0 million trips to Canada, a 3.1% year-over-year decrease.

Source: National Travel Survey and Visitor Travel Survey, second quarter 2025

New direct measures of oral health among Canadians

Results from the Canadian Health Measures Survey show that fewer seniors aged 60 to 79 years experienced complete tooth loss in 2022–2024 (8%) compared with 2007–2009 (22%). In 2022–2024, 83% of people showed gum bleeding during periodontal probing, and just over one-third had deeper gum pockets compared with one in five adults in 2007–2009. However, the prevalence of tooth decay was unchanged among children, youth and adults. In 2022–2024, tooth decay affected at least one tooth in 57% of children, 58% of youth, and 93% of adults, compared with 57% of children, 59% of youth and 96% of adults in 2007–2009.

Source: New direct measures suggest more adults are keeping their teeth, but gum health is declining, 2022 to 2024

Wastewater monitoring can provide estimates of the level of infectious diseases in a community

Wastewater data from five Canadian cities showed influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity increased to high levels early in the winter months of 2025 and began decreasing around March. In September, flu and RSV concentrations in wastewater were moderate to low across all five cities. Although COVID-19 is also a respiratory disease, it shows more variability and less consistency in seasonal patterns of virus activity compared with the flu or RSV. Wastewater monitoring can provide a snapshot of the activity level of respiratory diseases in a community because infected people shed these viruses into the wastewater.

Source: Brace yourself, winter is coming… and so are the viruses!

 

Contact information

For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136514-283-8300infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).