Labour · North America · High income
Canada: the labour market
Labour force is 22.8m (2025), 32nd of 187 in the world and 2nd of 2 in North America. Participation rate is 64.5% (2025), 69th of 187 in the world and 1st of 2 in North America. Women's participation is 60.2% (2025), 50th of 187 in the world and 1st of 2 in North America.
Labour force
Canada
Participation rate
CanadaNorth AmericaHigh incomeWorld
13 indicators
Labour: Canada in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within North America; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour forceLabour force, total | 22.8m2025 | 32/187 | 2/2 | 16.2m | 18.9m | 20.5m | +16%since 2015 | 198m | 734m | 3.7bn | |
| Participation rateLabour force participation, % of 15+ | 64.5%2025 | 69/187 | 1/2 | 65.3% | 66.7% | 64.1% | −1.4 ppsince 2015 | 62.0% | 61.0% | 61.0% | |
| Women's participationFemale labour force participation, % of women 15+ | 60.2%2025 | 50/187 | 1/2 | 58.7% | 61.9% | 59.4% | −0.8 ppsince 2015 | 56.8% | 54.3% | 48.9% | |
| Employment rateEmployment to population ratio, 15+ (ILO) | 60.1%2025 | 72/187 | 1/2 | 60.8% | 61.3% | 57.9% | −1.2 ppsince 2015 | 59.2% | 58.3% | 58.1% | |
| UnemploymentUnemployment, % of labour force (ILO) | 6.9%2025 | 63/187 | 1/2 | 6.8% | 8.2% | 9.7% | ±0.0 ppsince 2015 | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.8% | |
| Female unemploymentFemale unemployment, % of female labour force (ILO) | 6.6%2025 | 79/187 | 1/2 | 6.7% | 7.4% | 9.5% | +0.3 ppsince 2015 | 4.5% | 4.6% | 4.9% | |
| Youth unemploymentYouth unemployment, ages 15–24 (ILO) | 13.8%2025 | 89/187 | 1/2 | 12.7% | 14.6% | 20.1% | +1.0 ppsince 2015 | 9.8% | 11.5% | 13.4% | |
| Youth NEET rateYouth not in education, employment or training, % | 13.3%2025 | 118/170 | 1/2 | 13.9% | 13.7% | 17.9% | ±0.0 ppsince 2015 | 11.8% | 10.6% | — | |
| Wage workersWage and salaried workers, % of total employment | 87.1%2025 | 33/187 | 2/2 | 83.9% | 84.5% | 84.8% | +2.1 ppsince 2015 | 93.2% | 88.9% | 53.6% | |
| Vulnerable employmentVulnerable employment, % of total employment (ILO) | 9.6%2025 | 153/187 | 1/2 | 10.6% | 10.7% | 11.0% | −0.9 ppsince 2015 | 4.5% | 8.0% | 42.4% | |
| Jobs in agricultureEmployment in agriculture, % of total employment | 1.1%2025 | 176/187 | 2/2 | 2.5% | 1.8% | 1.6% | −0.5 ppsince 2015 | 1.5% | 2.9% | 25.8% | |
| Jobs in industryEmployment in industry, % of total employment | 18.7%2025 | 99/187 | 2/2 | 23.3% | 20.3% | 19.5% | −1.3 ppsince 2015 | 18.9% | 22.2% | 23.7% | |
| Jobs in servicesEmployment in services, % of total employment | 80.1%2025 | 19/187 | 1/2 | 74.2% | 78.0% | 79.0% | +1.8 ppsince 2015 | 79.6% | 74.9% | 50.6% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Wage workers+2.1 pp87.1% in 2025
- Vulnerable employment−0.9 pp9.6% in 2025
Worse than ten years ago
- Women's participation−0.8 pp60.2% in 2025
- Employment rate−1.2 pp60.1% in 2025
- Female unemployment+0.3 pp6.6% in 2025
- Youth unemployment+1.0 pp13.8% in 2025
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Canada and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Canada. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Canada | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 22.8m2025 | 175m2025 |
| Participation rate | 64.5%2025 | 61.7%2025 |
| Women's participation | 60.2%2025 | 56.3%2025 |
| Employment rate | 60.1%2025 | 59.1%2025 |
| Unemployment | 6.9%2025 | 4.2%2025 |
| Female unemployment | 6.6%2025 | 4.2%2025 |
| Youth unemployment | 13.8%2025 | 9.3%2025 |
| Youth NEET rate | 13.3%2025 | 11.6%2025 |
| Wage workers | 87.1%2025 | 93.9%2025 |