By Robb M. Stewart

OTTAWA–A third straight month of surprisingly strong hiring in Canada pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest in more than a year, a further sign the economy has steadied after the hit this year from U.S. tariffs.

Employers in the country added 53,600 jobs in November, which alongside a slight contraction in the labor force dropped the unemployment rate to 6.5%, the lowest since July last year, Statistics Canada said Friday.

Analysts had expected a modest 5,000 dip in employment for the month, which would have edged up the jobless rate 0.1 percentage point to 7%.

The economy has now added 180,600 jobs over three months, following weakness in the summer and little net change between January and August.

When calculated using U.S. Labor Department methodology, Canada’s unemployment rate slipped to 5.6% from 5.8% the month before.

The strength in the job market is likely to reinforce expectations the Bank of Canada is done cutting interest rates for now. Policymakers gather next week for the final policy meeting of the year, having already signalled the hurdle to another cut is high.

There were just under 1.5 million unemployed people in Canada in November, a drop of 5.1% from the month before.

Despite worries the trade dispute and uncertainty would lead to a widening spread of layoffs beyond industries like steel and lumber hit by sector-specific U.S. tariffs, the layoff rate in Canada has varied little on an annual basis throughout 2025. The rate stood at 0.7% in November, in line with the 0.8% a year earlier and comparable with the pace from 2017 to 2019 before the pandemic.

Statistics Canada’s data also showed it was slightly easier to find work in November. Among people unemployed in October, 19.6% found work in November, up from 18.6% in the same months last year, not seasonally adjusted.

Canada’s jobless rate had been trending higher through most of this year, hitting 7.1% in September, the highest since 2016, outside of the pandemic.

The central bank had forecast weak employment growth over the coming months due to slowing demand and low population growth.

The job gains in November were concentrated in part-time work, which rose a net 63,000. It also was focused among youth, with little change in employment for core-aged Canadians aged 25 to 54 or those older.

There were strong gains in health care and social assistance hiring, as well as increased job numbers in accommodation and food services, and natural resources. That counters a roughly 34,000 drop in employment in wholesale and retail trade.

Employment in the public sector rose by 16,300, outpaced by a 52,200 gain in private-sector jobs. The ranks of the self-employed fell by 14,700.

The participation rate–the proportion of the working-age population who were either employed or unemployed–slipped 0.2 percentage point to 65.1%

At the same time, the employment rate, the proportion of the working-age population that is employed, inched up 0.1 point to 60.9.

Recent data from online job site Indeed showed a rise in holiday-related job postings after two sluggish seasons, though that comes as job seekers more broadly have struggled to find work. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business monthly barometer showed a slight recovery in optimism among the country’s small businesses in November but it continued to point to fragile labor market, with more employers looking to reduce staff than hire.

Wage growth was steady for the month, though it continues to outpace annual consumer price inflation that sits just above the Bank of Canada’s 2% target.

Wages for permanent employees rose 4.0% on a year earlier, slightly above the 3.9% growth economists expected.

Write to Robb M. Stewart robb.stewart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-05-25 0908ET