Labour Force Survey Monthly

Labour Force Survey, October 2025

released November 7, 2025

Prince Edward Island Employment

Unemployment Rate By Province (seasonally adjusted, in percentage)

Summary

Statistics Canada’s LFS shows P.E.I.’s seasonally adjusted employment in October totaled 93,300, up 900 from one year ago and up 400 from last month. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.5 percent, down 1.4 percentage points as compared to October 2024 and down 1.2 percentage points compared to September 2025. The total labour force was 102,000 in October, down 500 (-0.5 percent) compared to October 2024 and down 1,000 (-1.0 percent) compared to September 2025. The participation rate was 65.8 percent in October, down 0.8 percentage points from September.

Employment in October increased by 1.8 percent for people aged 25 and over as compared to September 2025, while employment for youth aged 15 to 24 decreased 6.2 percent. Youth employment has dropped by 12.3 percent since January 2025, compared to an increase of 1.3 percent for the 25 and over age group over this period. Despite the recent decline, 2025 year-to-date youth employment has increased 2.5 percent over the same period in 2024.

Year-over-year full-time employment increased by 1,500 (1.9 percent), while part-time employment fell by 700         (-5.3 percent).  Full-time employment totaled 80,900 in October, while part-time employment was 12,400.

The services sector saw an increase of 1,400 (2.0 percent) as compared to October 2024, while employment in the goods-producing sector fell by 500 (-2.1 percent) over the same period to total 70,300 and 23,000 respectively.
 

Employment gains (+)/ losses (-) between October 2024 and October 2025 occurred in the following sectors on Prince Edward Island¹:

The number of unemployed people in October on Prince Edward Island was 8,700, down 1,300 from one month ago and down 1,400 as compared to October 2024. Long-term unemployment—the number of people who were continuously unemployed for 27 weeks or more—was 1,500 in October, down from 1,600 in September. Expressed as a proportion of the total labour force, long-term unemployment was 1.5 percent in October, down from 1.6 percent in September.

PEI Unemployment Rate (Seasonally Adjusted)

According to the Labour Force Survey, year-over-year growth in PEI’s population aged 15 years and older was 1.6 percent in October. The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 years and older who are employed—can help assess whether employment growth is keeping pace with population growth. In October, PEI’s employment rate was 60.2 percent, down 0.4 percentage points from October 2024. This indicates that growth in population year-over-year has outpaced employment growth over this period. The employment rate was at an all-time high of 63.0 percent in September and October of 2023.

The three-month moving average unemployment rate used by the Employment Insurance program for the Charlottetown region was 7.3 percent in October, up from 6.7 percent in September. The minimum draw period increases to 17 weeks and hours needed to qualify decreases to 630 for this region. The rate in the PEI region in October was 10.1 percent, down from 11.0 percent in September. The minimum draw period remains at 21 weeks and hours needed to qualify remain at 525 for this region. For more information, please refer to Employment Insurance (EI) - Canada.ca.

NATIONAL

Nationally, employment increased by 66,600 in October 2025 as compared to September 2025. The unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent, down from 7.1 percent in September. The national employment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 60.8 percent in October.

At the industry level, employment in the goods-producing sector was virtually unchanged in October, while employment in the services-producing sector increased by 67,600 (0.4 percent). Provincially, seasonally adjusted employment in October fell in 5 provinces with the largest percentage declines occurring in Nova Scotia (-0.8 percent) and Manitoba (-0.5 percent). The largest increase occurred in Newfoundland and Labrador (1.8%).

National average hourly wages for employees rose 3.5 percent ($1.27) on a year-over-year basis in October to reach $37.06. By province, year-over-year wage growth was highest in October in Nova Scotia (5.9 percent; $1.85), Quebec (4.3 percent; $1.46), and British Columbia (3.8 percent; $1.39). PEI’s average hourly wage increased 2.2 percent year-over-year in October and remains the lowest among provinces at $30.96.  

Unadjusted for seasonality, the national three-month moving average unemployment rate in October was 7.0 percent. The rate for population groups designated as visible minorities was 8.8 percent. Visible minority groups for which the rate was higher than the average were Black Canadians at 12.3 percent, Arab Canadians at 10.7 per cent, West Asian Canadians at 9.6 percent, Korean Canadians at 9.6 percent, South Asian Canadians at 9.3 percent, and Japanese Canadians at 9.1.
 

Canada Employment

¹ Components may not sum to total due to rounding

Notes:
1.    The LFS estimates for October are for the week of October 12 to 18, 2025.
2.    The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. For more information, see the Statistics Canada publication "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."
3.    The next release of the LFS will be on December 5, 2025.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey Estimates, released November 7, 2025.

For more information and links to data tables, refer to the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey release for October 2025.

Related downloads for this release:

Monthly Labour Force Survey report - PDF (100KB)