Unemployment rate drops to 6.5% in January despite 25,000 job losses: StatCan

By Canadian Press on February 6, 2026.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says the economy shed 25,000 jobs in the first month of the year but a drop in the number of people looking for work drove the unemployment rate down to 6.5 per cent.

The agency says January’s job losses largely came from the private sector and part-time work, and were concentrated among women aged 25 to 54.

StatCan says the manufacturing sector faced a loss of 28,000 positions last month and is down some 51,000 jobs from a year earlier — before U.S. tariffs hampered the industry.

January’s labour force survey marks the first net loss of jobs since August.

Despite the loss of work, StatCan says the unemployment rate fell from 6.8 per cent in December as fewer people were working or looking for work in January.

The agency says that of the more than 12 million people aged 15 or older not in the labour force, 0.3 per cent were discouraged job seekers, meaning they don’t believe there’s work out there that fits their skills.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2026.

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press