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Canada — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Canada, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
64.52%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -3.4% since 1990
Labor participation for Canada was 64.52% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 67.27% in 2008. The lowest was 64.10% in 2020 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.10% per year.
Canada ranks 69 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 37%. The median for North America is 64.52%, so Canada sits level with it. It peaked in 2008 and has fallen 4% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 2%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
64.52%
First (1990)
66.76%
Change
-3.4%
Highest
67.27%
in 2008
Lowest
64.10%
in 2020
Average
65.76%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.10%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 64.52% |
| 2024 | 64.74% |
| 2023 | 65.36% |
| 2022 | 65.25% |
| 2021 | 65.19% |
| 2020 | 64.1% |
| 2019 | 65.81% |
| 2018 | 65.55% |
| 2017 | 65.79% |
| 2016 | 65.64% |
| 2015 | 65.89% |
| 2014 | 66.02% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.