Employment losses in the past 12 months were exclusive to the eldest demographic cohort, while employment among all three female age cohorts also contracted.
Key construction employment metrics all ended December 2025 at lower levels than in December 2024. A contraction of 9,500 workers in the industry’s labour force more than offset a contraction of 1,500 in the number of employed workers. As a result, the industry’s unemployment rate declined from 6.1% to 5.7%.
Employment losses in the past 12 months were exclusive to the eldest demographic cohort – i.e., those workers aged 55 years and older. Employment in the cohort contracted by 54,200 workers, or -16.2%, while the segment’s labour force contracted by 58,400 workers, or -16.3%. These notable losses may suggest a large number of workers exited the industry through retirement or early departure over the course of the year.
Meanwhile, employment among core-aged workers – i.e., those aged 25 to 54 years – increased by 37,600 (3.5%), while employment among workers aged 15 to 24 years rose by 15,100 (8.2%).
A look at the data by gender reveals stark trends. While employment in all but the eldest cohort of male workers grew over the past 12 months, employment among all three female cohorts contracted. Employment among all females decreased by 23,700 workers, or 10.6%, while employment among all males rose by 22,300 workers, or 1.6%.
While not explicitly clear from the Labour Force Survey data, a plausible explanation for the decline among women and the rise among men is the difference in the occupation mix. Men tend to work primarily in on-site trades and occupations, while women tend to work primarily in off-site occupations such as administration, accounting, and payroll. Considering economic uncertainty, when firms tighten costs these overhead and support roles can be reduced across the board.
Only three provinces reported employment gains over the past 12 months. At 18,400 workers, or 7.3%, British Columbia reported the largest absolute employment gain. For the 12-month period ending in November 2025, the province reported an increase of 32.3% in building permit activity. An increase of more than 118.5% in permit values for institutional buildings led the way as construction activity began on several healthcare and long-term care projects. The province also saw increases in permits for multi-unit (+55.9%) residential properties.
Manitoba reported the largest relative employment gain at 11.7%, or +6,200 workers. The rise in activity in the province was likely driven by a surge in industrial building construction. Heavy industrial engineering and building activity was likely supported by the start of construction work on the Canadian Premium Sand solar glass manufacturing facility in Selkirk and work ongoing on the upgrades to the North End Wastewater Treatment Plant biosolids facilities in Winnipeg.
Saskatchewan was the only other province to report a year-over-year gain in employment to December 2025. The increase, however, was marginal at 100 workers, or 0.2%.
Meanwhile, Alberta (-11,000 workers; -4.4%), Ontario (-7,700 workers; 1.4%), and Quebec (-4,100 workers; 1.3%) reported the largest employment contractions over the past 12 months. The slowdown in activity in Alberta was likely driven by weakening demands for single-detached residential dwellings, measured by a decline in single-dwelling building permits (-19.4%). The decline is also partially driven by several key non-residential projects, including Heidelberg Materials’ carbon capture hub in Edmonton and Imperial Oil’s Strathcona refinery expansion, either passing peak activity periods or concluding.
Ontario and Quebec, meanwhile, both reported lower overall permit values over the 12-month period ending in November 2025. The former saw a notable contraction in institutional permit values, while the latter saw contractions across all building types.
All four Atlantic provinces also reported year-over-year employment losses, with Newfoundland and Labrador reporting both the largest absolute contraction at -1,800 workers and the largest relative contraction at -9.9%.
Finally, unemployment rates across the provinces varied from lows of 4.3% in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island to highs of 13.1% in New Brunswick and 23.0% in Newfoundland and Labrador. All other provinces reported rates of between 4.5% and 7.7%.
Construction Key Indicators
