07:03 AM EDT, 06/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Employment in Canada continued to struggle in May, with growth of just 8,800 in Friday's Labour Force Survey (LFS), said David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie.

The unemployment rate rose for the third consecutive month, reaching 7.0%. This is its highest level since September 2016 outside the pandemic.

The rise in unemployment rate was most prominent for youth, with the measure rising to 20.1% -- levels last observed around the Global Financial Crisis -- for returning students (aged 15 to 24 yrs).

Canada's labor market is likely to continue struggling in the months ahead, stated Doyle. Overall, growth should struggle from trade policy uncertainty and the ongoing mortgage renewal headwind.

Softness may not translate into as rapid a rise in the unemployment rate as in recent years, however, given the sharp slowdown to population growth resulting from the shift in immigration policy, he pointed out.

Macquarie still anticipates three 25bps cuts from the Bank of Canada by year-end, with the next cut likely to come at the July meeting.