Labour Force Survey Monthly

Labour Force Survey, August 2026

released September 4, 2026

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 increased 1,400 (1.5 percent) from one year ago to 95,600 in August 2026. This is a decrease of 400 (-0.4 percent) from last month. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.9 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from August 2026 and up 1.1 percentage points from last month. The total labour force totaled 103,800 in August, up 1,400 compared to August 2025 and up 800 from one month ago. The participation rate was 66.5 percent in August, up 0.5 percentage points from last month.

The year-over-year increase in employment was due to an increase of 700 (0.9 percent) in full-time employment, while part-time employment increased by 800 (6.7 percent).  Full-time employment totaled 82,900 in August, while part-time employment was 12,700. 
The services sector saw an increase of 3,400 (4.8 percent) as compared to August 2025, to reach 73,700. Employment in the goods-producing sector declined by 2,000 (-8.4 percent) over the same period, to total 21,900. 

Employment gains (+)/ losses (-) between August 2025 and August 2026 occurred in the following sectors on Prince Edward Island¹:

Employment in August was down 0.2 percent for people aged 25 and over as compared to July 2026, while employment for youth aged 15 to 24 fell 1.4 percent. Year-over-year, youth employment has dropped by 5.6 percent since August 2025, while employment for the 25 and over age group increased 2.8 percent over this period.

The number of unemployed persons in August on Prince Edward Island was 8,200, up 1,200 from one month ago and no change as compared to August 2025. Long-term unemployment—the number of people who had been continuously unemployed for 27 weeks or more—was 1,100 in August, up from 1,000 in July. Expressed as a proportion of the total labour force, long-term unemployment was 1.1 percent in August, up from 1.0 percent in July.

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 1.1 percent in August. 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 August, PEI’s employment rate was 61.2 percent, up 1.2 percentage points from August 2025. This indicates that growth in employment has outpaced growth in the population aged 15 years and over year-over-year. The employment rate was at an all-time high of 63.1 percent in September 2023.

The three-month moving average unemployment rate used by the Employment Insurance program for the Charlottetown region was 5.6 percent in August, no change from July. The minimum draw period and hours needed to qualify remain at 14 weeks and 700 hours for this region. The rate in the PEI region in August was 10.0 percent, up from 9.4 in July. The minimum draw period and hours needed to qualify remain at 20 weeks and 560 hours for this region. For more information, please refer to Employment Insurance (EI) - Canada.ca.

NATIONAL

Nationally, employment decreased by 42,000 in August 2026 as compared to last month and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.4 percent. The employment rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 60.8 percent in August.

At the industry level, employment in the goods-producing sector rose by 9,800 (0.2 percent) as compared to last month, while employment in the services-producing sector decreased by 51,500 (-0.3 percent).

Provincially, seasonally adjusted employment in August increased notably in New Brunswick (0.6 percent) and declined notably in Quebec (-0.4 percent) and Ontario (-0.2 percent). There was little change in other provinces.

National average hourly wages for employees rose 2.0 percent ($0.71) on a year-over-year basis in August. By province, year-over-year wage growth was highest in August in Nova Scotia (4.6 percent; $1.47), New Brunswick (4.4 percent; $1.38), and British Columbia (4.0 percent; $1.49). PEI’s average hourly wage increased 3.5 percent, or $1.07, and remains the lowest among provinces at $31.29.  

Unadjusted for seasonality, the national three-month moving average unemployment rate in August was 6.8 percent. The rate for population groups designated as visible minorities was 8.6 percent. Visible minority groups for which the rate was higher than the average were Arab Canadians at 13.0 per cent, West Asian Canadians at 12.1 percent, and Black Canadians at 11.9 percent.

Canada Employment

¹ Components may not sum to total due to rounding

Notes:
1.    The LFS estimates for August are for the week of August 9 to 15.
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 October 9, 2026.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey Estimates, released September 4, 2026.

For more information and links to data tables, refer to the Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey release for August 2026.

Related downloads for this release:

Monthly Labour Force Survey report - PDF (100KB)