U.S. tariffs begin to squeeze Canada's labour market, jobless rate rises to 6.9%
Canada lost more than 30,000 manufacturing jobs last month while Windsor saw a jump in its unemployment rate as U.S. tariffs take aim at the automotive sector and feed into economic uncertainty.
Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey on Friday said employment increased by 7,400 nationally, though that figure was padded by an increase in election-related hiring. The overall unemployment rate rose to 6.9 per cent, up from 6.7 per cent in April.
The April jobs figures illustrate how tariffs are beginning to squeeze the Canadian economy, affecting regions and industries most exposed to trade with the United States.
Ontario saw the largest decline in employment, falling by 35,000, with most of those jobs in the manufacturing sector. In Windsor, a major hub for the automotive industry, the unemployment rate jumped by 1.4 percentage points, reaching 10.7 per cent.
In trade-dependent Windsor, Trump's tariff threats rattle residents and businesses
'It doesn't take an archeological dig to realize this is a weak report,' BMO chief economist Douglas Porter wrote in a client note.
'This is the first major data reading for April, and it shows that tariffs are already taking a material bite out of the economy.'
Mr. Porter said the report increases the odds of a quarter percentage point rate cut from the Bank of Canada in June.
Statistics Canada found that employees working in trade-exposed industries dependent on U.S. demand were more likely to anticipate fewer employees at their workplace over the next six months.
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