Statistics Canada set to release January jobs numbers

By Canadian Press on February 6, 2026.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada is set to release jobs figures for January this morning.

A Reuters poll of economists expects employers added 7,000 jobs in the first month of 2026, good enough to keep the unemployment rate steady at 6.8 per cent.

RBC forecasts a decline of 10,000 jobs in January, giving back some of the strong employment gains seen in the final months of 2025.

But the bank’s economists are also calling for the unemployment rate to dip a tenth of a point to 6.7 per cent amid expectations the pool of available labour shrank last month.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem said in a speech Thursday that he expects an “uneven” recovery in the labour market this year as some sectors and occupations see gains but others face slower improvement.

RBC economists expect stability on the trade front will spur a rebound in overall hiring demand that will drive the jobless rate down to 6.3 per cent to end the year.

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

Craig Lord, The Canadian Press

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