Labour market report, April 2025

Quick facts

In April 2025:

• There were 13.7 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older:
  • 8.9 million (65.0%) were in the labour force. The labour force decreased by 11,000 (-0.1%) in April compared to March.
  • 8.2 million (59.9%) were employed, down by 34,600 (-0.4%) from March.
• Ontario's unemployment rate increased to 7.8% in April from 7.5% in March and 690,700 people were unemployed, up by 23,500 (3.5%) from March.

NOTE: April LFS data reflect initial tariffs on exports to the United States including goods not compliant with the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement (CUSMA) (March 4), steel and aluminum (March 12) and automobiles (April 3).

Employment decreased in April

Employment in Ontario decreased by 34,600 (-0.4%) in April, after decreasing by 27,500 (-0.3%) in March. A total of 8,195,200 people were employed in Ontario in April.

Employment in Canada was little changed in April (7,400 or 0.0%), after decreasing by 32,600 (-0.2%) in March. A total of 20,969,300 people were employed in Canada in April.

Chart 1 shows employment in Ontario from January 2016 to April 2025.

Full-time vs. part-time

Full-time employment decreased by 34,600 (-0.5%) in April, while part-time employment was little changed (0 or 0.0%).

Employment change by sex and age

Employment for men decreased by 6,800 (-0.2%) in April, after decreasing by 24,900 (-0.6%) in March. Total male employment was 4,343,400 in April. Employment for women decreased by 27,700 (-0.7%) in April, after decreasing by 2,600 (-0.1%) in March. Total female employment was 3,851,900 in April.

Youth (aged 15 to 24) employment decreased by 3,200 (-0.3%) in April for a total of 1,062,300, after decreasing by 2,800 (-0.3%) in March. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 decreased by 43,000 (-0.8%) in April to 5,419,000, after increasing by 12,400 (0.2%) in March. Employment for those aged 55 and older increased by 11,700 (0.7%) in April to 1,714,000, after decreasing by 37,100 (-2.1%) in March.

Employment change by industry

Ontario’s largest industry groups by employment in April were wholesale and retail trade (1,127,300 or 13.8% of total employment), health care and social assistance (1,013,600 or 12.4%), professional, scientific and technical services (914,900 or 11.2%) and manufacturing (809,700 or 9.9%).

Manufacturing (-32,700 or -0.4%), wholesale and retail trade (-16,100 or -1.4%) and business, building and other support services (-11,500 or -3.9%) led job losses in April.

Notable job gains in April included finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (21,700 or 3.1%), professional, scientific and technical services (19,200 or 2.1%) and public administration (4,900 or 1.0%).

Chart 2 shows industries by employment change in Ontario, March 2025 to April 2025.

Employment change by occupation

Ontario’s largest occupational groups by employment in April were sales and service (1,737,900 or 21.3% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,345,000 or 16.5%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,087,400 or 13.3%) and occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (949,000 or 11.6%).

Five of the ten major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains in the first four months of 2025 when compared to the same period in 2024. Health occupations (76,500 or 13.3%) led job gains, followed by sales and service occupations (58,900 or 3.6%) and occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (42,800 or 19.0%).

Notable employment losses were recorded in trades, transport and equipment operators (-33,600 or -3.0%), management occupations (-24,700 or -2.7%) and occupations in manufacturing and utilities (-19,000 or -4.9%).

Chart 3 shows occupations by annual employment change in Ontario, April 2024 to April 2025.

Employment change in urban centres

In April 2025, employment in ten of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was above their April 2024 level, led by Toronto (96,900 or 2.7%) and followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (22,000 or 2.5%), St. Catharines-Niagara (21,600 or 9.5%) and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (12,200 or 3.2%).

Notable employment losses in April were recorded in Guelph (-7,800 or -7.2%), Hamilton (-6,800 or -1.6%) and Oshawa (-4,800 or -1.9%).

Chart 4 shows employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from April 2024 to April 2025.

Unemployment rate increased to 7.8%

Ontario’s unemployment rate increased to 7.8% in April from 7.5% in March. The provincial unemployment rate has increased significantly since falling to a near-record low in April 2023 (5.0%).

The Canadian unemployment rate increased to 6.9% in April from 6.7% in March. The national unemployment rate has increased significantly since March 2023 (5.0%).

Chart 5 shows unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2016 to April 2025.

Unemployment rate by sex, age, visible minority status, immigrant status and Indigenous group

The unemployment rate for women increased to 7.5% in April from 7.1% in March. The rate for men increased to 8.0% in April from 7.9% in March.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate decreased to 15.8% in April from 16.4% in March. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 decreased to 6.8% in April from 6.3% in March. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older rose to 5.3% in April from 4.9% in March.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 9.7% in April compared to a 6.1% rate for those who are not visible minorities and did not identify as Indigenous (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

The unemployment rate for landed immigrants was 7.9% in April compared to a 6.9% rate for the Canadian-born population in Ontario. The unemployment rate for landed immigrants includes the rates for very recent immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed less than 5 years earlier) (10.7%), recent immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed more than 5 to 10 years earlier) (10.3%) and established immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed more than 10 years earlier) (6.6%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

In Ontario, the unemployment rate for the Indigenous population was estimated at 10.3% in April compared to a 7.7% rate for the non-Indigenous population. The unemployment rate for the Indigenous population includes the rates for First Nations people living off reserve (11.8%) and individuals who identify as Métis (8.1%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

Unemployment rate by urban centre

In April, the average unemployment rate increased from March in ten of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest increases were seen in Peterborough (9.1% in March to 10.8% in April), Windsor (9.3% to 10.7%), Barrie (7.1% to 8.2%) and Kingston (6.2% to 7.2%).

Six CMAs had average unemployment rates that decreased in April, led by Belleville-Quinte West (5.6% in March to 1.9% in April), Guelph (6.4% to 5.5%) and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (8.3% to 7.8%).

Chart 6 shows the average unemployment rate for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in April 2025.

Long-term unemployment

In April, an estimated 172,700 Ontarians or 25.0% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 173,100 Ontarians or 25.9% of all unemployed people in March and 131,300 or 22.3% of all unemployed people a year earlier in April 2024.

The average time in unemployment was 23.5 weeks in April, below the average in March (22.8 weeks) but well above the average in April 2024 (19.4 weeks).

Chart 7 shows Ontario’s long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2016 to April 2025.

Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

The average hourly wage rate in Ontario for employees was $37.36 in April, above the average rate across Canada ($36.13). Ontario’s average hourly wage rate in April rose by 4.3% on a year-over-year basis (by $1.53 from $35.83 in April 2024) which was slightly above the 4.1% increase from March.

April’s wage growth (4.3%) was above the growth seen in the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of March (2.3%). The CPI is a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices for goods and services as experienced by consumers.

Chart 8 shows the year-over-year percentage change in Ontario’s average hourly wage rate and the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), January 2016 to April 2025.

The average hourly wage rate was $35.21 for women in April, rising by 5.6% ($1.88) from $33.33 in April 2024. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $39.41, an increase of 3.0% ($1.15) from $38.26 a year earlier.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $22.10 in April, an increase of 3.8% ($0.81) from $21.29 in April 2024. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $39.93 in April, up 4.1% ($1.58) from $38.35 a year earlier. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by 6.2% ($2.29) to $39.40 in April from $37.11 a year earlier.

In April, the industries with the largest increases in average hourly wage rates compared to a year earlier were:

1. Information, culture and recreation: +19.2% ($6.04) to $37.43
2. Agriculture: +15.5% ($3.60) to $26.81
3. Utilities: +11.1% ($6.09) to $60.82

Only two industries experienced a decrease in their average hourly wage rate in April compared to a year earlier:

1. Wholesale and retail trade: -2.7% (-$0.75) to $27.54
2. Manufacturing: -0.6% (-$0.20) to $34.47

Changes in average hourly wages by industry are the result of multiple factors, including wage growth and shifts in the composition of employment by job tenure and occupation.

Download data

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey

April 2025 Labour Market Report:

• CSV, Chart 1, employment in Ontario from January 2016 to April 2025, 1Kb
• CSV, Chart 2, industries with highest and lowest employment change in Ontario, March 2025 to April 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 3, employment change for occupations in Ontario from April 2024 to April 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 4, employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from April 2024 to April 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 5, unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2016 to April 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 6, average unemployment rates for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), April 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 7, Ontario’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2016 to April 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 8, year-over-year percentage change in Ontario’s average hourly wage rate and the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), January 2016 to April 2025, 2Kb

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