Private payrolls in the United States rose by 63,000 jobs in February, marking the strongest hiring month since July, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report. The gain signals renewed momentum in America's labor market after months of sluggish growth. Nela Richardson, chief economist at ADP, noted that hiring has increased and "pay gains remain solid, especially for job-stayers." The February numbers suggest businesses are feeling confident enough to add workers again, even as interest rates remain elevated.

The US numbers stand in sharp contrast to what's happening north of the border. Canada's public sector employment expanded by 27.0% between 2015 and 2024, twice the private sector's gain of 13.4%, according to a February 2026 Fraser Institute study. That gap matters because 78.5 per cent of all jobs in 2024 still were located in the private sector—meaning Canada's economy depends on businesses, not bureaucracies, to drive growth. When government hiring outpaces the private sector by this margin, it raises real questions about long-term sustainability. Private companies generate the tax revenue that pays for those government jobs in the first place.

Canada's private sector employment peaked in mid-2025 at 14.09 million workers before dropping nearly 4% to 13.53 million by January 2026, a decline of more than 560,000 jobs.

The graph above illustrates the narrative very clearly. At 14.09 million workers in June and July 2025, Canada's private sector employment reached its highest level before declining consistently throughout the fall and winter. The nation had lost more than 560,000 private sector jobs from its peak by January 2026, dropping to 13.53 million. Over seven months, that equals almost 4%. The Fraser Institute study illuminates why this trend is so alarming: Striking similarities between total job growth by province and private sector employment increases rather than public sector hiring exist. That is, the whole economy notices when private companies cease hiring. The US seems to be reversing its hiring slowdown just as the Canadian private sector is shrinking.

The divergence between American and Canadian labor markets highlights how much economic momentum depends on private sector confidence. US businesses are starting to hire again, betting that demand will support those new workers. Canada's private employers are moving in the opposite direction, shedding jobs even as government payrolls keep growing. The lesson is simple: you can't build a healthy economy on government hiring alone. Private sector job creation drives prosperity because those businesses produce goods and services people actually want to buy—and generate the tax base that funds everything else.