AI Analysis: Employment characteristics by economic region, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality

Executive Summary

Canadian employment grew 23.3% over 15 years, rising from approximately 16,856,000 to 20,790,000 persons between March 2011 and March 2026, with the Services-Producing Sector consistently driving the majority of employment throughout the period. The dataset's 81 employment categories across 81 economic regions reveal a strongly right-skewed distribution, where a few large aggregate categories — peaking at 21,282,500 persons in July 2025 — pull the mean (1,640,580) well above the median (636,700). The single most significant anomaly in the entire 15-year series is the COVID-19 shock of May 2020, which drove total employment to its lowest point of 16,767,500 persons before a rapid recovery ensued.

Key Findings

• Total Canadian employment increased by 23.3% over the full 15-year period, climbing from ~16,856,000 persons in March 2011 to ~20,790,000 persons in March 2026, with a peak of 21,282,500 persons recorded in July 2025.
• The COVID-19 pandemic caused the sharpest employment disruption in the dataset, with total employment hitting a 15-year low of 16,767,500 persons in May 2020 — year-over-year swings far exceeded the 5% anomaly threshold in both the drop and subsequent recovery.
• The Services-Producing Sector dominates Canadian employment throughout the entire period, while the Goods-Producing Sector remained comparatively small and relatively flat across all 181 monthly data points.
• The distribution of employment values is strongly right-skewed, with a mean of 1,640,580 persons more than double the median of 636,700 persons, reflecting the outsized weight of large aggregate categories versus small regional subcategories.
• The dataset spans an enormous value range of 21,251,300 persons (minimum: 31,200; maximum: 21,282,500), with the middle 50% of values concentrated within an interquartile range of 1,135,400 persons (Q1: 254,800; Q3: 1,390,200).
• Outside of the 2020 pandemic shock, employment trends across the 2011–2019 and 2021–2026 periods appear relatively stable, suggesting COVID-19 represented a singular structural disruption rather than part of a recurring pattern.
• The dataset covers 81 unique employment characteristics — including broad sector totals and specific industries such as Agriculture, Construction, Manufacturing, and Transportation — providing a comprehensive view of Canada's labour market structure over 15 years.