April to June, 2023

Introduction

About the Ontario Employment Report

The Ontario Employment Report is released four times a year and provides an assessment of the current trends and developments in the Ontario labour market. The Ontario Employment Report is a companion report to the Ontario Economic Accounts, which provides an overall assessment of the current state of the Ontario economy.

Methodological note

In the current issue, year-over-year change represents change between the averages in the second quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2023. Note that the Ontario Economic Accounts report primarily shows changes between the previous and the current quarter.

This report uses seasonally adjusted data in charts displaying data with a monthly frequency in the Overview section.

Unadjusted data are used in charts and tables showing the changes for the current quarter compared with the same quarter for the previous year. ^{footnote 1[1]}

All estimates in this report are based on Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS), which measures the current state of the national provincial and territorial labour market. The LFS is based on a household survey carried out monthly by Statistics Canada in reference weeks of the month. The reference periods for the three months of the second quarter of 2023 are April 9 to 15, May 14 to 20, and June 11 to 17.

Overview

Ontario's labour market overview

Employment:

• +162,000 net jobs in Q2 2023, year-over-year
• +139,800 net full-time jobs in Q2 2023, year-over-year
• +55,800 net jobs in June 2023
• +94,600 net full-time jobs in June 2023

Unemployment rate:

• 5.5% in the second quarter of 2023
• 5.7% in June 2023

Year-over-year, Ontario's employment increased by 2.1% (+162,000) in the second quarter of 2023, while Canada's employment experienced the same percentage growth (+419,000, +2.1%).

Ontario's unemployment rate was 5.5% in the second quarter of 2023, slightly higher than the Canadian rate of 5.2%.

In June 2023, Ontario's employment increased (+55,800, +0.7%), driven by gains in full-time employment (+94,600, +2.6%). Canada's employment also increased in June 2023 (+59,900, +0.3%) driven by Ontario's employment growth.

In June 2023, the unemployment rate in Ontario increased for the second consecutive month to 5.7% compared to 5.5% in May 2023 and 4.9% in April 2023. The unemployment rate in Canada also edged up in June 2023 from 5.4% to 5.5%.

Year-over-year overview

Ontario's labour market, January 2014 – June 2023 (seasonally adjusted)

Between the second quarters of 2022 and 2023:

• employment gains were driven by growth in full-time employment (+139,800, +2.2%) while part-time employment also increased (+22,200, +1.6%);
• employment increased in the private sector (+3.3%), remained virtually unchanged in the public sector and declined for those who are self-employed (-1.0%);
• employment increased in services-producing industries (+1.7%) and goods-producing industries (+3.4%);
• employment increased in every region except Northern Ontario, with Central Ontario (+2.9%) experiencing the highest rate of employment growth; and
• employment increased for all age groups with those 55 years and over experiencing the highest rate of employment growth (+2.5%) compared to other age groups.

Type of Work quarterly details

Employment change by work status, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022

Year-over-year, full-time employment increased by 2.2% and part-time employment increased by 1.6% in the second quarter of 2023.

Employment change by employment sector, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022

Year-over-year, employment increased by 3.3% for the private sector, remained virtually unchanged for the public sector ^{footnote 2[2]} , and decreased by 1.0% for the self-employed.

Employment change by above-average wage and below-average wage industries, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022 ^{footnote 3[3]}

Year-over-year, paid employment increased by 3.3% in above-average wage industries and by 2.1% in below-average wage industries.

Sector and occupation quarterly details

Employment change by industry, goods-producing industries, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022

Employment in goods-producing industries increased by 3.4% in the second quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. The overall gain was driven by increases in manufacturing (+26,900, +3.4%), while the remaining industries also experienced employment increases, with forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas reporting the largest rate of employment growth (+6,300, +16.9%).

Employment change by industry, services-producing industries, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022

In the second quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, employment increased in the services-producing industries (+109,100, +1.7%). Nine services-producing industries experienced employment growth with health care and social assistance (+36,300, +3.9%) experiencing the largest employment gain, followed by public administration which experienced the highest rate of employment growth (+27,400, +6.3%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (+23,100, +3.5%). Two industry groups experienced a decline in employment with the largest decrease in wholesale and retail trade (-34,600, -3.0%).

Employment change by occupational group, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022 ^{footnote 4[4]}

Year-over-year, trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (+85,400, +8.1%) experienced the largest employment gain followed by management occupations (+83,500, +11.2%) and business, finance and administration occupations (+38,300, +2.9%). Art, culture, recreation and sport occupations recorded the highest rate of employment growth (+34,700, +17.0%). Five occupational groups experienced a decline in employment with the largest decrease in natural and applied sciences and related occupations (-38,900, -5.0%).

Geographic region

Ontario regions ^{footnote 5[5]}

Employment change by Ontario region, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022 ^{footnote 6[6]}

Year-over-year, employment increased in all Ontario regions in the second quarter of 2023, except for Northern Ontario (-1.6%). The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ^{footnote 7[7]} experienced the largest employment gain (+2.4%), followed by Central Ontario (+2.9%), Eastern Ontario (+1.7%) and Southwestern Ontario (+1.1%). Central Ontario had the highest rate of employment growth (+2.9%).

Unemployment rates by Ontario region, Q2 2023 ^{footnote 8[8]}

In the second quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate increased in three regions. The GTA had the highest unemployment rate (6.2%), while Eastern Ontario had the lowest unemployment rate (4.4%).

Participation rates by Ontario region, Q2 2023 ^{footnote 9[9]}

In the second quarter of 2023, the labour force participation rate varied among economic regions, ranging from 58.7% in Northern Ontario to 68.1% in the GTA.

Age and gender quarterly details

Employment change by age group and gender, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022

Compared to the same quarter last year, employment increased for all age groups in the second quarter of 2023. Older workers aged 55 years and over posted the highest rate of employment growth (+2.5%), followed by core-aged workers aged 25 to 54 years (+2.0%) and youth aged 15 to 24 years (+1.7%).

Year-over-year, employment increased more for males (+2.9%) than females (+1.2%).

Unemployment rates by age group and gender, Q2 2023

In the second quarter of 2023, youth had the highest unemployment rate (13.3%), followed by core-aged individuals (4.4%) and older individuals (3.3%). Compared to the same period last year, the unemployment rate increased by 1.7 percentage points for youth, was unchanged for core-aged individuals and decreased by 0.7 percentage point for older individuals.

In the second quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate for females (5.7%) was higher than that for males (5.3%). Compared to the same period last year, the unemployment rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point for males and increased by 0.4 percentage point for females.

Participation rates by age group and gender, Q2 2023

In the second quarter of 2023, core-aged individuals had the highest labour force participation rate (88.4%), followed by youth (65.3%) and older individuals (38.0%). Compared to the second quarter of 2022, the participation rate increased by 0.6 percentage point for youth, decreased by 0.1 percentage point for the core-aged population and was unchanged for older individuals.

Males had a higher participation rate (70.7%) than females (61.7%) in the second quarter of 2023. Compared to the same period last year, the participation rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point for females and increased by 0.3 percentage point for males. The gap in labour force participation rates between males and females widened when compared to the second quarter of 2022 from 8.5 percentage points to 9.0 percentage points.

Education level and immigrant status quarterly details

Employment rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Q2 2023 ^{footnote 10[10]}

In the second quarter of 2023, core-aged individuals with less than a high school diploma continued to have the lowest employment rate (58.3%), while those with a university degree recorded the highest employment rate (88.7%), followed by those with a postsecondary certificate or diploma (87.3%).

Year-over-year, the employment rate decreased for all education levels, except for those with a university degree (+0.3 percentage point). High school graduates recorded the largest employment rate decrease (-1.0 percentage point).

Those born in Canada had the highest employment rate (86.1%), while very recent immigrants had the lowest employment rate (77.6%).

Year-over-year, the employment rate decreased for nearly all core-aged groups by immigrant status, except for established immigrants (+2.0 percentage points). Very recent immigrants recorded the largest employment rate decrease (-1.4 percentage points).

Unemployment rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Q2 2023 ^{footnote 11[11]}

In the second quarter of 2023, the core-aged population with a university degree or a postsecondary certificate/diploma had the lowest unemployment rate (3.9%) while those with less than a high school diploma had the highest unemployment rate (8.0%). Year-over-year, the unemployment rate of core-aged people edged down for those with a postsecondary certificate/diploma (-0.1 percentage point), decreased for those with less than a high school diploma (-3.0 percentage points), and increased for those with a university degree (+0.2 percentage point) or high school diploma (+0.2 percentage point).

Year-over-year, the unemployment rate decreased for most groups by immigrant status, with the exception of those born in Canada. In the second quarter of 2023, the core-aged population born in Canada and established immigrants had the lowest unemployment rate (3.9%), while very recent immigrants had the highest unemployment rate (7.9%).

Participation rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Q2 2023 ^{footnote 12[12]}

In the second quarter of 2023, among core-aged population, those with a university degree continued to have the highest participation rate (92.4%), while those with less than a high school diploma had the lowest participation rate (63.4%). Year-over-year, the participation rate increased among those with a university degree (+0.5 percentage point) and declined among those with a postsecondary certificate/diploma (-0.4 percentage point), those with high school education (-1.0 percentage point) and those with less than high school education (-2.7 percentage points).

In the second quarter of 2023, core-aged very recent immigrants had the lowest participation rate (84.2%) compared to recent immigrants, established immigrants and those born in Canada. Year-over-year, the participation rate decreased for very recent immigrants, recent immigrants and those born in Canada, while established immigrants experienced an increase.

Wages quarterly details

Average hourly wages by employment status, 1997-2022

Over the last two and a half decades, the average hourly wage increased in real terms ^{footnote 13[13]} (i.e., after accounting for inflation) from $27.82 in 1997 to $32.94 in 2022, with the growth rate averaging 0.7% per year. Over this period, part-time workers experienced slightly higher average annual growth in real wages (+0.7%) compared to full-time workers (+0.6%).

Hourly wage growth by type of work, Q2 2023 over Q2 2022 ^{footnote 14[14]}

In the second quarter of 2023, the average hourly wage of Ontario employees was $34.25, an increase of 4.8% from the second quarter of 2022. ^{footnote 15[15]}

The average hourly wage for part-time positions increased by 3.0%, while the average hourly wage for full-time workers increased by 5.1%.

Consumer Price Index inflation over the second quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of 2022 was 3.3%.

Average hourly wage rate and wage growth by occupational group, Q2 2023 ^{footnote 16[16]}

Year-over-year, all broad occupational groups experienced growth in average hourly wages led by occupations in natural resources, agriculture and related production (+8.6%); occupations in management (+5.9%) and art, culture, recreation and sport (+5.5%). Occupations in trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (+2.9%) experience the smallest increase in average hourly wages among broad occupational groups.

Appendix I

Overview of annual employment ten-year review

Employment by region (000)

Unemployment rate by region (%)

Total employment by CMA (000)

Greater Toronto Area

Central Ontario

Eastern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario

Northern Ontario

Overview of quarterly employment year-over-year

Employment by Region (000)

Unemployment Rate by Region (%)

Total Employment by CMA (000)

Greater Toronto Area

Central Ontario

Eastern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario

Northern Ontario

Overview of monthly* labour force characteristics

*Seasonally adjusted

Note: All estimates in this appendix are based on Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey.