Employment declines spread across several industries, while manufacturing rises
Employment declined by 42,000 (-0.2%) in August and the employment rate fell 0.1 percentage points to 60.8%. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.4%. In August, employment declined in business, building and other support services (-20,000; -2.8%), public administration (-8,800; -0.7%), natural resources (-7,700; -2.3%), and utilities (-5,600; -3.5%) in August. Manufacturing (+22,000; +1.2%) was the only sector to record a significant increase in employment for the month.
Source: Labour Force Survey, August 2026
Exports to countries other than the United States reach a record high
In July, Canada's merchandise exports decreased 2.3%, while imports were up 2.2%. As a result, Canada's merchandise trade surplus with the world narrowed from $4.2 billion in June to $769 million in July. This was the fifth consecutive monthly trade surplus. Exports to countries other than the United States rose 7.4% in July to reach a record high of $25.6 billion. The share of Canadian exports destined to countries other than the United States was 33.7% in July 2026.
Smaller proportion of businesses expect cost-related obstacles
Businesses continue to anticipate a variety of obstacles over the next three months. In the third quarter, 59.8% of businesses across Canada expect cost-related obstacles over the next three months, an improvement from 64.3% in the second quarter. Additionally, the proportion of businesses with a positive outlook remained relatively steady. In the third quarter, nearly three-quarters (72.6%) of businesses are either very or somewhat optimistic about their outlook over the next 12 months, similar to the proportions of businesses that reported the same sentiments in the second quarter (66.8%) and first quarter (72.3%).
Source: Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, third quarter 2026
Production and exports of natural gas increase in June
Primary energy production rose 5.9% in June to 2.0 million gigajoules, with all six sectors contributing to the increase. Production of marketable natural gas rose 8.0% to 700.8 million gigajoules in June, the highest year-over-year increase since February (+9.0%). In June, exports to countries other than the United States reached a total of 58.3 million gigajoules, the highest level since Canada started exporting liquefied natural gas to the global market in July 2025.
Source: Energy statistics, June 2026
Physiotherapists across Canada
The 2021 Census counted 26,610 physiotherapists working in Canada in 2021. About half (50.8%) of them were aged from 35 to 54 years, while just over one-third (34.6%) were aged from 25 to 34 years. In 2021, the renewal ratio for physiotherapists was 3.1, nearly double the average for all health occupations (1.6). This means that for each physiotherapist approaching retirement age (55 to 64 years) there were approximately three younger ones (aged 25 to 34 years) in the workforce. In the first quarter of 2026, there were 1,625 job vacancies nationwide for physiotherapists, down from the previous quarter (1,715 job vacancies) but up from a year earlier (1,395).
Contact information
For more information, contact the Statistical Information Service (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).