Employment declined by some 84,000 positions, and the percentage of the working age population with jobs fell to 60.6 per cent, near the recent low of 60.5 per cent in August, Statistics Canada reported. Average hourly wages rose 3.9 per cent from a year earlier, suggesting wage increases continue to outpace inflation. (The Logic)

Talking point: The yo-yo effect of trade uncertainty is evident in the labour market. Hiring slumped last summer, then rallied for the rest of year, as employers added more than 189,000 jobs. Almost 60 per cent of those gains now have been eliminated over the first two months of 2026 amid worries about the future of the North American trade agreement. The job losses in February were widespread, but retailers and various service providers did most of the firing. In another sign of strain, the youth unemployment rate rose 1.3 percentage points to 14.1 per cent; the average between 2017 and 2019 was 10.8 per cent.

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