Quick facts

In July 2018:

  • There were 11.9 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older
    • 7.7 million (65%) were either working or actively looking for work
    • 7.3 million (61%) were employed and 81% of them had a full-time job
  • Ontario’s unemployment rate was 5.4% (415,900 unemployed people)

Employment increased in July

Employment in Ontario increased by 60,100 in July, after increasing by 34,900 in June. July’s employment gain was the largest monthly gain on record.

Chart 1 shows employment in Ontario from January 2013 to July 2018.

Line graph for chart 1 shows employment in Ontario increasing from 6,771,700 in January 2013 to 7,305,000 in July 2018.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0019-01, (seasonally adjusted data).
Download data, chart 1

Full-time vs. part-time

Part-time (80,300) jobs accounted for all the increase. Full-time jobs declined by 19,600.

Employment increase/decrease by age

Youth employment (those aged 15 to 24) increased by 8,200 in July, after increasing by 10,900 in June.

Employment for people aged 25 to 54 increased by 29,300 in July compared to June and those aged 55 and older gained 23,100 jobs.

Employment in Canada increased by 54,100 in July, after increasing by 31,800 in June.

Unemployment rate declined to 5.4%

Chart 2 shows unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2013 to July 2018.

Line graph for Chart 2.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0019-01, (seasonally adjusted data).
Download data, chart 2

Ontario’s unemployment rate declined to 5.4% in July, from 5.9% in June.

Canada’s unemployment rate declined to 5.8% in July, from 6.0% in June.

Ontario’s unemployment rate has remained below that of the unemployment rate for Canada for more than three years.

Unemployment rate by age

For people aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate decreased to 11.2% in July, from 12.7% in June.

The unemployment rates for people aged 25 to 54 declined to 4.5% in July from 4.9% in June and decreased to 4.1% from 4.4% for those aged 55 and older.

Lowest and highest unemployment rates

Chart 3 shows Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) with highest and lowest unemployment rates in Canada, July 2018.

Chart 3

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0294-01, (seasonally adjusted data to reduce volatility caused by small sample size).
Download data, chart 3

St. Catharines-Niagara and Barrie were tied for the highest unemployment rate in Ontario (7.0%), while St. John’s, Newfoundland recorded the highest unemployment rate in Canada (9.0%).

Peterborough recorded the lowest unemployment rate in Canada in July (3.3%)

Year-over-year comparisons

Over the first seven months of 2018, employment in Ontario increased by 104,600 net jobs for adults 25 years and older compared to the first seven months of 2017.

Employment increase and decrease by education level

Chart 4 shows Ontario employment change by highest level of education attained, aged 25 and older, July 2017 to July 2018, year-to-date.

Chart 4

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0019-01, unadjusted data
Download data, chart 4

Adults with a university degree led gains with 102,600 net new jobs.

Individuals with some postsecondary education (PSE) recorded job gains of 41,100, while employment for those with PSE certificates or diplomas increased by 43,900.

People with less than high school education recorded job losses of 25,900 and those with high school education recorded job losses of 57,100.

Unemployment rate by education level

The unemployment rate for adults aged 25 and older with PSE credentials was 4.2% over the first seven months of 2018, down from 4.4% a year earlier.

The unemployment rate for adults without PSE credentials was 6.0%, down from 7.0% compared to the first seven months of 2017.

Employment increase and decrease by occupation

Chart 5 shows Ontario employment change by occupation, July 2017 to July 2018, year-to-date.

Chart 5

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0296-01, unadjusted data.
Download data, chart 5

Seven of the 10 major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains over the first seven months of 2018 compared to a year earlier.

Learn more about the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system.

These occupations gained the most jobs:

  • management (85,200)
  • business, finance and administration (75,300)
  • trades, transport and equipment operator and related (18,000)

These occupations lost jobs:

  • health (38,900)
  • sales and service (21,500)
  • art, culture, recreation and sport (13,000)

Long-term unemployment decreased

Chart 6 shows Ontario’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, July 2010 to July 2018, year-to-date.

Chart 6

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 14-10-0056-01, unadjusted data.
Download data, chart 6

Over the first seven months of 2018, an average of 73,800 people were long-term unemployed, or unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. This is down from 92,500 a year earlier.

Long-term unemployed individuals accounted for 16.7% of the total number of unemployed people over the first seven months of 2018. This is compared with 19.2% a year earlier.

The percentage of long-term unemployed individuals is still higher compared with the pre-recession level in July 2008, when 13.3% of all unemployed people were long-term unemployed.

Average time in long-term unemployment

The average time in unemployment decreased to 17.4 weeks over the first seven months of 2018 from 19.1 weeks a year earlier.

Download data

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey

July 2018 Labour Market Report:

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