- Sonny Scarfone
Principal Economist
Economic News
Quebec: The Job Market Stagnates in September
October 10, 2025
Highlights
- In September, Quebec’s labour market shed 4,700 jobs, erasing part of August’s gains. Since the start of the year, net job creation in the province stands at 19,900 (Table 1).
- The unemployment rate fell from 6.0% in August to 5.7% in September, the lowest in the country. This decline was driven by a drop in labour force participation.
- Full-time employment rose by 21,400 positions, offsetting summer losses. However, private-sector hiring plunged by 42,300 jobs—the steepest drop since January 2022.
- At the sectoral level, changes were modest, reflecting businesses’ cautious approach. The strongest gains came from health care and transportation and warehousing. Conversely, education services, business services, construction, and accommodation and food services posted the largest declines. Manufacturing held steady (+2,000), bringing its year-to-date tally to -400.
- Regionally, the unemployment rate remained above the provincial average in the urban areas of Montréal (8.6%), Outaouais (7.6%) and Laval (6.6%). In contrast, it stayed below 4% in regions with a strong manufacturing base or resource-driven economies, such as Centre-du-Québec (3.3%), Chaudière‑Appalaches (3.4%) and Saguenay–Lac‑Saint-Jean (3.8%).
Comments
In a context where Quebec’s real GDP saw its sharpest non-pandemic decline External link. since 2009 in the second quarter, the cumulative addition of 20,000 jobs in 2025—even if mostly part-time—remains encouraging. Given demographic stagnation, the 0.6% year-over-year drop in hours worked is not alarming. The stability observed in manufacturing points in the same direction. After struggling to hire in recent years, businesses now appear to be doubling down on efforts to retain their workforce despite the uncertain environment.
Wage growth remains strong, reaching 3.9% year-over-year. Combined with solid employment performance, this trend confirms what we highlighted last week External link.: income tax revenues remain sufficient to keep the government on track toward its fiscal targets—and could even help reduce the deficit if the trend continues. With a balanced budget targeted by 2029–2030, any improvement in revenues helps ease future pressure on public services, particularly health care, where needs will continue to rise as the population ages.
Implications
Although the labour market is less tight than in 2022 and 2023, labour availability remains uneven across the province. In regions where unemployment is particularly low, job vacancy rates are still higher than pre-pandemic levels (graph 2). This reality will continue to shape regional economic prospects in the coming years.
