Labour Force Survey Snapshot: April 2026

Industries Balance Each Other in Pre-Summer Ramp-Up The tourism sector[1] in April 2026 grew slightly over the previous month[2], with both labour force (+20,000) and employment (+12,000) gaining by less than one percent. April tends to mark a lag between…

Labour Force Survey Snapshot: March 2026

Accommodations Industry Gains Against an Overall Sector Decline. The tourism sector[1] in March 2026 saw declines in both labour force and employment from the previous month[2]. Both indices were, however, up on last year, and also on 2019 as a…

Labour Force Survey Snapshot: February 2026

Accommodations Sees Losses Against Sector Growth. The tourism sector[1] in February 2026 saw slight gains over the previous month[2], with labour force growth outpacing employment, pulling the unemployment rate up slightly. Across the broader national economy, labour force edged up…

Labour Force Survey Snapshot: January 2026

Tourism Contracts in Parallel with Broader Economy. The tourism sector[1] in January 2026 contracted slightly from December[2], with both labour force (-0.5%) and employment (-1.6%) seeing decreases. However, these losses were broadly in line with patterns seen across the broader…

Counting Tourism Jobs: A Tale of Two Numbers

One of the challenges our tourism sector faces is inconsistency. With industry associations, DMOs, and economic development teams each focused on their specific needs—to say nothing of differences between municipal, regional, provincial/territorial, and national frames of reference—it’s very easy to…

Strategic Alliance to Strengthen Labour Market Intelligence in Tourism

On January 22, 2026, Tourism HR Canada and the Conseil québécois des ressources humaines en tourisme (CQRHT) formalized a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at strengthening their collaboration on labour market intelligence (LMI) in the tourism sector. Today’s workforce context…

Labour Force Survey Snapshot: December 2025

Pre-Holiday Travel Lull Leads to Slight Drop in Employment. While December often marks a time of travel for many Canadians, the pre-holiday period—which the December Labour Force Survey targeted—remains a bit of a lull, with many businesses not yet ramping…

Labour Force Survey Snapshot: November 2025

Tourism Stays the Course Through Autumn Lull. November is often a slow period in tourism, with the weather turning colder but not cold enough or snowy enough to support winter activities. The Canadian economy is still adjusting to new political…

Labour Force Survey Snapshot: October 2025

Tourism holds steady from September. The tourism sector[1] in October 2025 saw little change over the previous month in terms of labour force or employment[2]. Both indices grew by less than one percent, on par with changes seen across the…

Labour Force Survey Snapshot: September 2025

Early autumn sees tourism workforce contract, but hold its own. September always sees a contraction of the tourism workforce: with the summer surge in demand definitively over and many students leaving the workforce to return to their studies, both labour…

Workforce Pulse: Cautious Stability in a Shifting Economy

Tourism HR Canada has been working closely with a consortium of other workforce development councils to generate cross-sector labour market insights. The initiative, led by the Excellence in Manufacturing Consortium, saw a national survey fielded across fourteen sectors to collect…

Help Shape the Future of Canada’s Tourism Workforce

Labour challenges continue to be a top concern for tourism businesses across the country. Share your perspective in the 2025 National Workforce Insights Survey, open from October 13 to 24. This important survey explores the realities of vacancies, operational costs,…