Choose your settings

Choose your language
Economic News

Quebec: The Labour Market Ends 2025 on a Positive Note

January 9, 2026
Sonny Scarfone
Principal Economist

Highlights

  • In December, Quebec added 15,500 net jobs, bringing total gains for 2025 to 45,000 (Table 1).
  • The unemployment rate rose from 5.1% to 5.4%, while remaining the lowest among the ten provinces (Graph 1). This increase reflects growth in the labour force (+29,200), despite a second consecutive decline in the population aged 15 and over (-2,300).
  • Details were also encouraging. After a few months of losses, full-time employment rose by 16,900 in November, reducing the annual decline to 36,400. Private-sector employment also increased, allowing the annual balance to edge into positive territory.
  • Educational services ended the year on a strong note, with a cumulative gain of 40,100 jobs. The financial sector (+28,200) and wholesale and retail trade (+24,000) also posted solid annual performances. Conversely, business services (-28,200) and professional, scientific and technical services (-19,800) recorded significant declines in 2025.
  • The non seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained below 5% in most regions. Year‑over‑year, it fell more significantly in the regions of Montreal (from 8.1% to 6.8%), Capitale‑Nationale (4.5% to 3.4%), Mauricie (5.5% to 3.5%) and Centre‑du‑Québec (5.0% to 3.6%).

Comments

Despite the economic headwinds in 2025, Quebec’s labour market posted a relatively positive performance under the circumstances: the unemployment rate is lower than 12 months ago and there was a net gain of 45,000 jobs, although this represents a slowdown from 2024 (+71,900).

Part-time employment helped prevent the potential contraction, but demographics played a key role as the population aged 15 and over declined again from the previous month. The population aged 15 to 64, the group most likely to participate in the labour market, remains virtually flat due to changes in immigration policies (Graph 2). Statistics Canada’s R7 unemployment measure, which includes part-time workers seeking full-time employment, is still lower than a year ago. This suggests that the relative weakness in full-time employment is not driven by increased involuntary part-time work, typically associated with a weak economy, but rather by structural factors.

Other positive developments include a sharp drop in the share of long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more), from 19.8% to 12.7% over the year. Wage growth also accelerated to 5% year-over-year, compared with an inflation rate of 3%, which is expected to converge toward the 2% target around mid-year

Implications

The year 2025 marked a slowdown for Quebec’s labour market, but it was relatively moderate. Hiring was limited, as were layoffs, allowing the market to maintain a certain balance during a period of uncertainty. For 2026 External link., we expect a slight acceleration in economic growth, although the review of the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement represents a downside risk. The extent of the impact on the labour market could ultimately depend on labour availability.

NOTE TO READERS: The letters k, M and B are used in texts, graphs and tables to refer to thousands, millions and billions respectively. IMPORTANT: This document is based on public information and may under no circumstances be used or construed as a commitment by Desjardins Group. While the information provided has been determined on the basis of data obtained from sources that are deemed to be reliable, Desjardins Group in no way warrants that the information is accurate or complete. The document is provided solely for information purposes and does not constitute an offer or solicitation for purchase or sale. Desjardins Group takes no responsibility for the consequences of any decision whatsoever made on the basis of the data contained herein and does not hereby undertake to provide any advice, notably in the area of investment services. Data on prices and margins is provided for information purposes and may be modified at any time based on such factors as market conditions. The past performances and projections expressed herein are no guarantee of future performance. Unless otherwise indicated, the opinions and forecasts contained herein are those of the document’s authors and do not represent the opinions of any other person or the official position of Desjardins Group.