Photo: Mario Pinard · Public domainHousehold incomes in Amqui trail those of 89% of Canadian towns
Amqui had an unemployment rate of 6.9% at the 2021 census; the middle of Canadian towns is 9.9%. Commutes from Amqui average 13.9 minutes, and 2.4% take an hour or more. 73% of people aged 15 to 64 in Amqui had a job at the 2021 census, right at the middle of Canadian towns.
The work figures that set Amqui apart
Less unemployment than most towns
6.9% of the labour force was out of work at the 2021 census (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns); the Labour Force Survey had the area at 4.3% in October 2026. Unemployment ↓
Lower incomes than most towns
Half the households here had more than $59,900 in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns. Household income ↓
A local job centre
With 2,925 jobs based in Amqui and 1,915 working residents, the ratio compares with 0.8 in the middle of Canadian towns. The daily tide ↓
Shorter trips than most towns
The average trip to work is 13.9 minutes (26 in the middle of Canadian towns), and 2.4% last an hour or longer. The trip to work ↓
Written from the data on this page: Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census, its commuting tables, Employment Insurance and the Labour Force Survey.
The Jobs & income grade for Amqui: B−
Better than 46% of Canadian towns on three measures together, #282 of 507 in Quebec.
Its strongest measure is trip times; its weakest, household income.
Graded against Canadian towns of 2,500 people or more; less unemployment and a shorter commute count in its favour.
How the grade works
Census 2021 measures, weighed equally against every Canadian town and neighbourhood of 2,500 people or more: the share of residents aged 15 to 64 in work, median household income (2020), the unemployment rate and the average commute. Each becomes a percentile; their average sets the letter.
Work and the working-age population of Amqui
A smaller share in work than in 58% of Canadian towns.
Take in all adults, retirees with them, and only 51% were working. The monthly Labour Force Survey, which covers the wider area, put its employment rate at 52% in October 2026. The participation rate, everyone 15 and over working or looking for work, was 55%. May 2021, when the census was taken, was a pandemic spring; unemployment has come down since, as the Labour Force Survey records.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: people in work of any age over residents aged 15 to 64, and the census unemployment rate (15 and over); the 25-to-54 rate is Statistics Canada’s own (98-10-0485). The Labour Force Survey and business counts are context, not grade inputs.
Household income in Amqui: $59,900 at the median
Set beside Quebec’s towns, where the median is $74,100, Amqui sits 19% below. Because 2020 was the first year of the pandemic, emergency benefits make up part of these before-tax incomes.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: median total income of households in 2020, before tax (a neighbourhood’s estimated from its dissemination areas’ income groups).
Amqui fills up on a working day: 47% more workers
Inbound commuters outnumber outbound ones about 3 to 1 in Amqui. Of those who commute, 78% stay within the municipality; the middle of Canadian towns is 70%.
People with no fixed workplace are in neither count.
Time on the road to work from Amqui
Statistics Canada’s own average, timed exactly rather than by band, is 12.1 minutes. The middle of Quebec’s towns averages 26.5 minutes. Trips under 15 minutes: 72%, more than the 31% in the middle of Quebec’s towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: commuting duration in five bands; our average uses each band’s middle (75 minutes for an hour or more), so it runs about two minutes above Statistics Canada’s own.
1,431 people come into Amqui to work, most from Lac-au-Saumon and Causapscal
- Lac-au-Saumon280
- Causapscal200
- Saint-Léon-le-Grand160
- Sayabec120
- Val-Brillant95
- Sainte-Irène80
- Saint-Tharcisius75
- Saint-Zénon-du-Lac-Humqui50
- Rimouski50
- Saint-Vianney40
- Sayabec135
- Lac-au-Saumon75
- Causapscal70
- Matane20
- Rimouski20
- Fermont15
- Saint-Léon-le-Grand10
- Mont-Joli10
- La Pocatière10
- Québec10
49% of the people who work in Amqui live outside it, 280 of them in Lac-au-Saumon, 8 km away. Going the other way, Sayabec is the biggest single destination (135).
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census (98-10-0459): commuting flows between municipalities (census subdivisions), rounded to 5; linked names have their own pages.
Amqui gets to work without a car for 12% of commuters
86% drive to work, fewer than the 90% in the middle of Quebec’s towns. Only 9.4% worked at home on census day, against 21% in the middle of Canadian towns. Transit takes 0.4% of commuters, against 3.5% in the middle of Canadian towns.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census: main mode of commuting; average durations by mode from table 98-10-0458 (whole municipalities only).
In the La Matapédia census division, 19% fewer people receive EI than in 2019
Compared with a year earlier, the count in August 2026 fell by 8%. January 2021 was the busiest month, with 1,780 people on EI, 1.7 times 2019’s average. That works out to around 6 beneficiaries per 100 people aged 15 to 64 across the division.
Statistics Canada, Employment Insurance beneficiaries by census division (14-10-0323): all income benefits, not seasonally adjusted. EI beneficiaries published for the La Matapédia census division, not by town. EI counts are context, not part of any grade.
People receiving Employment Insurance each month, as a share of the 2019 average (100).
How walkable Amqui is: A−
Better than 84% of Canadian towns on two measures together, #199 of 507 in Quebec.
OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); active commuting from the 2021 Census.
Among Canadian towns of 4,200 to 8,200, Amqui ranks 389th of 713 for jobs and income
| # | Place | People | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Labrador City Newfoundland and Labrador | 7,965 | 79% | 5.5% | $146K | A+ |
| 2 | Cornwallis Manitoba | 4,705 | 85% | 2.1% | $99K | A+ |
| 3 | Silverwood Heights Saskatchewan | 8,153 | 81% | 5.8% | $118K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 23 | Chibougamau Quebec | 7,273 | 82% | 3.7% | $85K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 27 | Shannon Quebec | 7,088 | 81% | 3.7% | $113K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 33 | Saint-Antonin Quebec | 4,633 | 85% | 3.9% | $76K | A+ |
| … | ||||||
| 387 | North Stormont Ontario | 7,946 | 78% | 5.9% | $92K | B− |
| 388 | Glamorgan Alberta | 6,479 | 75% | 11% | $75K | B− |
| 389 | Amqui Quebec | 6,059 | 73% | 6.9% | $60K | B− |
| 390 | Tyendinaga Ontario | 5,005 | 74% | 9.7% | $98K | B− |
| 391 | Vegreville Alberta | 6,153 | 71% | 9.8% | $70K | B− |
| … | ||||||
| 713 | Chertsey Quebec | 5,678 | 64% | 8.6% | $58K | D− |
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the places either side of Amqui, and others among Quebec’s towns.
How the places next to Amqui compare on work
| Place | In work, 15–64 | Unemployment | Household income | Average trip | Jobs | Walk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amqui | 73% | 6.9% | $60K | 13.9 min | B− | A− |
| Lac-au-Saumon 8.2 km | 80% | 4.7% | $64K | 17.8 min | B+ | C+ |
| Causapscal 18.8 km | 68% | 10% | $53K | 22.2 min | D | B− |
The people of each place: the share in work, unemployment, household income and the average commute, with both grades once they come.
What this data can and can’t tell you
What each figure measures for Amqui, where it comes from, and what it leaves out.
- Unemployment. Of everyone 15 or older who was working or job-hunting in the census week, the part still looking. Someone not seeking work isn’t in it at all.
- Household income. Before-tax total income of the middle household for 2020, from the census. Neighbourhood medians are worked out from bracket counts, since Statistics Canada publishes none of their own.
- Trip times. Built from banded answers: each commuter’s usual one-way trip counts as the midpoint of the band they chose, and the result tends to sit slightly higher than Statistics Canada’s average.
- Where people commute. Counts of workers with a fixed workplace, by where they live and where they work, both taken as whole municipalities; the jobs figure takes everyone who works here, wherever home is.
- Employment Insurance. People receiving EI benefits each month, counted for the census division. It follows the local job market; it isn’t an unemployment rate.
- The Labour Force Survey. The most recent unemployment rate on the page comes from this monthly survey, which covers the wider metro area or economic region, not the town.
- In work. Working residents per resident of working age (15 to 64), from the 2021 Census.
- Which towns we compare. Every town and city neighbourhood with 2,500 residents or more; whole cities and First Nations reserves are left out. Each middle figure is a median.
Questions about work in Amqui
How many jobs are there in Amqui?
The 2021 census counted about 2,925 people working in Amqui: 1.5 jobs for every resident who commutes to a fixed workplace. In June 2026, 298 businesses with employees were on Statistics Canada’s count.
What is the unemployment rate in Amqui?
Two figures answer it: 6.9% on census day in May 2021 (9.9% in the middle of Canadian towns), and 4.3% for the Bas-Saint-Laurent economic region in the Labour Force Survey of October 2026.
What is the average household income in Amqui?
The median household in Amqui had $59,900 before tax in 2020, against $85,900 in the middle of Canadian towns.
How do people in Amqui get to work?
By car: 86% of commuters, 0.4% take public transit and 12% walk; on census day 9.4% of those in work worked from home.
How long is the commute from Amqui?
13.9 minutes is the average trip, with 72% of commuters there in under 15 minutes and 2.4% taking an hour or more.
Where do people in Amqui work?
Most stay: 78% work in Amqui. The rest go first to Sayabec (135) and Lac-au-Saumon (75).
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population (Census Profile) · Statistics Canada, tables 98-10-0458 and 98-10-0459 (commuting) · Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0323 (EI beneficiaries) · Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey (14-10-0459, 14-10-0462) · Statistics Canada, Canadian Business Counts (33-10-1176) · grades: TownRatings. Under the Statistics Canada Open Licence.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).