The Ottawa-Gatineau census metropolitan area (CMA) lost around 9,500 jobs between May and June of this year, a new Statistics Canada report suggests.
According to
data from the June labour force survey
, the number of employed people in the Ottawa-Gatineau CMA dropped from 894,700 in May 2025 to 885,200 in June 2025. The unemployment rate for the region rose from 5.8 per cent to 6.2 during the same time period.
Regionally, the number of people employed in Ottawa dropped from 707,800 in May 2025 to 697,600 in June 2025.
The number of people who are unemployed increased from 42,000 to almost 45,900 in the same time period. Ottawa’s unemployment rate rose from 5.6 per cent in May 2025 to 6.2 per cent in June 2025 .
In Gatineau, the number of people employed increased from 186,900 in May 2025 to 187,600 in June 2025 .
The number of people who are unemployed increased from 12,700 to 13,100 during the same time period. Gatineau’s unemployment rate rose from 6.4 per cent in May 2025 to 6.5 per cent in June 2025.
Nationally, employment increased by 83,000 in June, raising the employment rate to 60.9 per cent, or 0.4 percentage points. The unemployment rate also fell to 6.9 per cent in June, or 0.1 percentage points.
Provincially, employment in Ontario rose by 21,000, or 0.3 percentage points in June. Ontario’s unemployment rate fell to 7.8 per cent, or 0.1 percentage points, in June.
Youth unemployment rates remain high
While more women and men in core-aged (25-54 years old) were employed nationally in June of this year, the youth unemployment rate remained high at 14.2 per cent.
This is up 0.7 percentage points year-over-year, Statistics Canada said. The youth unemployment rate is also significantly higher than pre-pandemic years, when it was 10.8 per cent from 2017 to 2019.
Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate for students returning to school also remains high.
The unemployment rate for this part of the population is 17.4 per cent in June 2025, up from 15.8 per cent in June 2024.
This is the highest unemployment rate for the month of June since 2009, Statistics Canada added.
In May, the unemployment rate for students returning to school was 20.1 per cent, comparable with levels reported in May 2009.
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