Canada’s Job Numbers: A Look Behind the Headlines
Jobs lost. Jobs gained. But what kinds of jobs is Canada actually creating?
Canada lost 42,000 jobs in August—including approximately 36,000 full-time positions.
But compared with August 2025, Canada still had 217,000 more jobs. That sounds reassuring—until we look behind the headline.
Where Were the Jobs Created?
Nearly 60% of the entire net increase came from one broad category: health care and social assistance.
| Industry | Jobs gained or lost |
|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | +129,000 |
| Information, culture and recreation | +49,000 |
| Transportation and warehousing | +47,000 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | +26,000 |
| Manufacturing | +22,000 |
| Accommodation and food services | +16,000 |
| Construction | +14,000 |
| Finance, insurance and real estate | −15,000 |
| Educational services | −28,000 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | −55,000 |
This was not a boom in construction, natural resources or other goods-producing industries. The entire goods-producing economy accounted for only about one job in every ten added during the year.
Almost 90% of the net increase occurred in service-producing industries.
Were the Health-Care Jobs Public or Private?
Statistics Canada’s headline report does not provide that complete breakdown.
Of the approximately 129,000 additional health-care and social-assistance workers, about 118,000 were employees and 11,000 were self-employed.
The category includes government-controlled hospitals, private medical offices, care homes, home-care businesses, childcare providers and nonprofit social agencies.
Even a job classified as private-sector employment may ultimately be financed partly or substantially by taxpayers.
Employment Is Not the Same as a Secure Job
Across the entire economy during the year:
- Private-sector employees increased by approximately 156,000.
- Self-employment increased by approximately 80,000.
- Public-sector employment declined by approximately 19,000.
Self-employment can describe a successful business owner or highly paid professional. It can also describe a gig worker or contractor unable to find a conventional payroll job with dependable hours and benefits.
- Were the new jobs full-time and permanent?
- Did they provide benefits and dependable hours?
- Did wages keep pace with living costs?
- How many were ultimately supported by taxpayers?
- How many created new private-sector wealth?
How Permanent Were the New Jobs?
Another number raises questions about the quality of Canada’s job growth.
Using Statistics Canada’s unadjusted figures, the number of paid employees increased by approximately 133,500 over the year. Of those additional positions:
68,400 were temporary
Approximately 65,100 were permanent
Temporary jobs therefore accounted for slightly more than half of the increase among paid employees, even though they represent only about 14% of all employee positions.
Statistics Canada defines temporary employment as work with a predetermined ending date, including seasonal, casual, term and contract positions.
This does not make the jobs unimportant or unreal. It does mean much of the employment growth may offer less security than the headline suggests.
The question is not only how many jobs Canada added. It is how many were permanent, dependable and capable of supporting a household over the long term.
The Bottom Line
The monthly loss of 42,000 jobs is real. The year-over-year gain of 217,000 jobs is also real.
But Canada did not experience a broad resurgence in construction, resource development or wealth-producing industry. Most of the increase was in services, with nearly 60% concentrated in health care and social assistance.
Counting jobs is easy. Determining whether those jobs can support Canadian families—and the tax base needed to pay for public services—is the question that matters.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, August 2026 and Statistics Canada Table 14-10-0355-01 . Figures are rounded.
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