Data from Statistics Canada paints a troubling picture: nearly 1.6 million Canadians are now out of work, and the job market is starting to show serious cracks under growing international pressure.

The unemployment rate in April reached 6.9%, matching levels last seen in November, and edging past analysts' expectations of 6.8%. While the economy technically added jobs"7,400 net gains"this growth was too small to keep up with the expanding labor force. Last month, the country lost 32,600 jobs, making April's improvement look modest by comparison.

In one of the starkest signals yet, 31,000 jobs were lost in Canada's manufacturing sector in April alone, according to Statscan. That's a serious blow for an economy heavily reliant on exports. The job losses were directly tied to U.S. import duties and the broader uncertainty caused by the trade tensions.