January to March, 2025

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 fourth quarter report is an annual report. 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.

Overview

Ontario’s labour market overview

Employment:

• +166,900 net jobs in Q1 2025, year-over-year
• +87,800 net full-time jobs in Q1 2025, year-over-year
• -27,500 net jobs in March 2025
• -31,700 net full-time jobs in March 2025

Unemployment rate:

• 7.6% in Q1 2025
• 7.5% in March 2025

Year-over-year, Ontario’s employment increased by 2.1% (+166,900) in the first quarter of 2025, while Canada’s employment grew by 1.9% (+389,600).

Ontario’s unemployment rate was 7.6% in the first quarter of 2025, higher than the Canadian rate of 6.9%.

In March 2025, Ontario’s employment decreased (-27,500, -0.3%), driven by declines in full-time employment (-31,700, -0.5%). Canada also experienced an employment decline in March 2025 (-32,600, -0.2%), driven by employment decreases in Ontario (-0.3%) and Alberta (-0.6%).

In March 2025, the unemployment rate in Ontario increased to 7.5% from 7.3% in February 2025. The unemployment rate in Canada also edged up to 6.7% from 6.6% in the previous month.

While Ontario’s unemployment rate has been increasing since its recent low of 5.0% in April 2023, the current unemployment rate for March 2025 (7.5%) is relatively consistent with the historical average (7.4%). This trending up in the unemployment rate is also observed at the national level, as Canada’s unemployment rate has increased from its recent low of 5.0% in March 2023 to 6.7% in March 2025.

Year-over-year overview

Ontario’s labour market, January 2015 – March 2025 (seasonally adjusted)

Between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025:

• Employment gains were driven by growth in both full-time employment (+1.3%) and part-time employment (+5.4%).
• Employment increased in all sectors: the private sector (+2.0%), the public sector (+1.3%) and the self-employed (+3.5%).
• Employment increased in services-producing industries (+2.6%) and stayed relatively unchanged in goods-producing industries (-0.1%).
• Employment increased in all five regions, with Northern Ontario (+3.1%) and the Greater Toronto Area (+2.9%) experiencing the highest rates of employment growth.
• Employment increased for youth (+6.0%) and core-aged workers (+2.2%), while employment of older workers (-0.3%) declined.
• Hourly wage growth (+3.8%) exceeded inflation (+2.2%).

Type of Work

Employment change by work status, Ontario, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024

Year-over-year, full-time employment increased by 1.3% and part-time employment increased by 5.4% in the first quarter of 2025.

Employment change by employment sector, Ontario, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024

Year-over-year, employment increased by 2.0% in the private sector, 1.3% in the public sector,^{footnote 1[1]} and by 3.5% for the self-employed.

Sector and occupation

Employment change by industry, goods-producing industries, Ontario, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024

Employment in goods-producing industries was relatively unchanged (-0.1%) in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period in 2024. Employment declines in construction (-1.6%) and agriculture (-0.3%) were mostly offset by increases in forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas (+8.2%), utilities (+5.5%), and manufacturing (+0.2%).

Employment change by industry, services-producing industries, Ontario, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024

In the first quarter of 2025, employment in the services-producing industries (+2.6%) increased compared to the same period in 2024. All services-producing industries experienced employment growth except for transportation and warehousing (-4.1%) and other services (except public administration) (-1.0%). Health care and social assistance (+3.9%) experienced the largest employment gain, followed by information, culture and recreation (+12.3%) and accommodation and food services (+6.9%).

Employment change by occupational group, Ontario, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024^{footnote 2[2]}

Year-over-year, health occupations experienced the largest employment gain (+13.8%), followed by sales and service occupations (+3.6%) and occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (+22.4%). Four of ten occupational groups experienced a decline in employment, led by trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (-2.6%).

Geographic region

Employment change by Ontario region, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024^{footnote 3[3]}

Year-over-year, employment increased in all five Ontario regions in the first quarter of 2025. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA)^{footnote 4[4]} experienced the largest employment gain (+109,500, +2.9%), followed by Eastern Ontario (+25,000, +2.4%), Central Ontario (+12,900, +0.7%), Northern Ontario (+11,500, +3.1%), and Southwestern Ontario (+8,100, +0.9%). Northern Ontario (+3.1%) and the GTA (+2.9%) experienced the highest rates of employment growth.

Unemployment rates by Ontario region, Q1 2025^{footnote 5[5]}

In the first quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate increased in all regions, except for Northern Ontario (-1.1 percentage points). The GTA had the highest unemployment rate (8.7%), followed by Central Ontario (7.3%), Southwestern Ontario (6.9%), Eastern Ontario (5.6%), and Northern Ontario (5.0%).

Age and gender

Employment change by age group and gender, Ontario, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024

Compared to the same quarter last year, employment increased for core-aged workers aged 25 to 54 years (+2.2%) and youth aged 15 to 24 years (+6.0%). Older workers aged 55 years and over experienced a decline in employment (-0.3%).

Year-over-year, employment increased both for women (+1.7%) and men (+2.5%)^{footnote 6[6]}.

Unemployment rates by age group and gender, Ontario, Q1 2025

In the first quarter of 2025, youth had the highest unemployment rate (16.0%), followed by core-aged individuals (6.6%) and older individuals (5.1%). Compared to the same period last year, the unemployment rate increased for all age groups, but the increase was most pronounced among youth.

In the first quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate for men (8.2%) was higher than that of women (6.9%). Compared to the same period last year, the unemployment rate increased by 0.9 percentage point for women and 1.0 percentage point for men.

Education level and immigrant status

Employment rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Ontario, Q1 2025^{footnote 7[7]}

In the first quarter of 2025, core-aged individuals with less than high school education^{footnote 8[8]} continued to have the lowest employment rate (56.7%), while those with a university degree recorded the highest employment rate (87.1%), followed by those with a postsecondary certificate or diploma (83.4%).

Year-over-year, the employment rate for core-aged people decreased across all four education levels.

Core-aged persons born in Canada had the highest employment rate (84.4%), while very recent immigrants had the lowest employment rate (77.2%).

Year-over-year, the employment rate decreased for the core-aged population born in Canada, established immigrants and recent immigrants, while it increased for very recent immigrants.

Unemployment rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Ontario, Q1 2025^{footnote 9[9]}

In the first quarter of 2025, the core-aged population with a university degree and those with a postsecondary certificate or diploma had the lowest unemployment rates (5.6% and 6.0%, respectively). Those with a high school diploma (10.1%) and less than high school education (11.3%) had higher unemployment rates. Year-over-year, the unemployment rate of core-aged people increased across all education levels.

In the first quarter of 2025, the core-aged population born in Canada had the lowest unemployment rate (5.3%), while very recent immigrants had the highest unemployment rate (9.5%). Year-over-year, the unemployment rate increased for all groups by immigrant status, except for very recent immigrants.

Wages

Average hourly wage growth by type of work, Ontario, Q1 2025 over Q1 2024^{footnote 10[10]}

In the first quarter of 2025, the average hourly wage of Ontario employees was $37.32, an increase of 3.8% from the first quarter of 2024^{footnote 11[11]}. While nominal wage growth exceeded Consumer Price Index inflation (2.2%) for the eighth consecutive quarter, nominal wage growth was at its lowest level since the second quarter of 2022.

Full-time employees (+3.8%), part-time employees (+5.2%), permanent employees (+3.9%), temporary employees (+3.4%), employees with union coverage (+5.5%) and those without union coverage (+3.0%) all experienced increases in average hourly wages.

Methodological note

In the current issue, year-over-year change represents change between the averages in the first quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025. Note that the Ontario Economic Accounts report primarily shows changes between two consecutive quarters.

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. Unadjusted data are also used to calculate annual averages, year-to-date averages and 2025 first quarter averages^{footnote 12[12]}.

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 each month. The reference periods for the three months of the first quarter of 2025 are January 12 to 18, February 9 to 15, and March 9 to 15.

Appendix I

Overview of quarterly employment year-over-year, Ontario

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, Ontario

* Seasonally adjusted.