Brendon Bernard
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Brendon Bernard is a Senior Economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, focusing on the Canadian labour market. His research interests include analyzing how detailed trends in the job market fit in with broader developments in the Canadian economy. Brendon was previously an economist with Department of Finance Canada, where he focused on analyzing Canadian financial sector policy and the U.S. economy. He holds a Master’s in Economics from the Vancouver School of Economics at University of British Columbia, as well as a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from Queen's University.

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Articles by Brendon Bernard

State of the Labour Market
June 2025 Labour Force Survey: Snapped Out of It
Line chart titled “The unemployment rate ticked down for the first time since January” shows the Canadian unemployment rate between January 2022 and June 2025. After rising steadily since January 2025, the unemployment rate ticked down from 7.0% to 6.9% in June.
Brendon Bernard - July 11, 2025
Line chart titled “The unemployment rate ticked down for the first time since January” shows the Canadian unemployment rate between January 2022 and June 2025. After rising steadily since January 2025, the unemployment rate ticked down from 7.0% to 6.9% in June.
State of the Labour Market
May 2025 Labour Force Survey: The Glass is Both Half-Full and Half-Empty
Brendon Bernard - June 6, 2025
State of the Labour Market
Cool Summer: Canadian Summer Job Postings Lag Last Year
Life guard standing on the beach looking out to the ocean
Brendon Bernard - May 15, 2025
Life guard standing on the beach looking out to the ocean
State of the Labour Market
April Labour Force Survey: Trade Hits
Line chart titled “April manufacturing decline could be just the beginning” shows the percent change in employment between June 2022 and April 2025, with different colour lines showing change in total employment and manufacturing employment. Manufacturing employment dropped sharply in April 2025, but was still up about 2% from its mid-2022 level.
Brendon Bernard - May 9, 2025
Line chart titled “April manufacturing decline could be just the beginning” shows the percent change in employment between June 2022 and April 2025, with different colour lines showing change in total employment and manufacturing employment. Manufacturing employment dropped sharply in April 2025, but was still up about 2% from its mid-2022 level.
State of the Labour Market
Canadian Labour Market Update Q1 2025: Jobs in Purgatory
Employee in office reviewing reports at their desk
Brendon Bernard - May 6, 2025
Employee in office reviewing reports at their desk
State of the Labour Market
March Labour Force Survey: Weak Numbers, While the Tariff-hit Looms
Scatterplot titled “March job losses led by lower-paying services, rather than trade-exposed manufacturing” shows industry-level job growth since February 2020 on the x-axis and month-over-month growth for March 2025 on the y-axis. Employment fell fastest in information and culture, business and building services, and retail and wholesale trade, while manufacturing posted a more modest decline. 
Brendon Bernard - April 4, 2025
Scatterplot titled “March job losses led by lower-paying services, rather than trade-exposed manufacturing” shows industry-level job growth since February 2020 on the x-axis and month-over-month growth for March 2025 on the y-axis. Employment fell fastest in information and culture, business and building services, and retail and wholesale trade, while manufacturing posted a more modest decline. 
State of the Labour Market
February Labour Force Survey: A Stall, but Not a Jolt
Two-panel line chart titled “Layoffs remained low in February” shows the share of Canadian employees who started a new job, and were laid off, with four lines in each panel, representing the monthly rate in 2023, 2024, 2025, and the average over 2017-2019. Both measures of labour market movement were below their seasonal norms in February.
Brendon Bernard - March 7, 2025
Two-panel line chart titled “Layoffs remained low in February” shows the share of Canadian employees who started a new job, and were laid off, with four lines in each panel, representing the monthly rate in 2023, 2024, 2025, and the average over 2017-2019. Both measures of labour market movement were below their seasonal norms in February.
Future of Work
GenAI Still Rarely Mentioned in White-Collar Job Postings
Meeting in board room with one person presenting a bar graph of financials to colleagues around a large desk
Brendon Bernard - February 12, 2025
Meeting in board room with one person presenting a bar graph of financials to colleagues around a large desk
State of the Labour Market
January 2025 Labour Force Survey: Smooth Sailing Into Choppy Waters
Two-panel line graph titled “The Canadian labour market has caught some momentum after a rough 2024.” The left panel shows employment and population growth between June 2022 and January 2025, with the gap between the two trends narrowing over the past two months. The right panel shows the unemployment rate between mid-2022 and January 2025, with the rate ticking down recently after rising steadily.
Brendon Bernard - February 7, 2025
Two-panel line graph titled “The Canadian labour market has caught some momentum after a rough 2024.” The left panel shows employment and population growth between June 2022 and January 2025, with the gap between the two trends narrowing over the past two months. The right panel shows the unemployment rate between mid-2022 and January 2025, with the rate ticking down recently after rising steadily.
State of the Labour Market
Tariff Threat Didn’t Dent Canadian Hiring Appetite in January 
Aerial view of photo studio showing crew
Brendon Bernard - February 5, 2025
Aerial view of photo studio showing crew
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