Labour market report, July 2022

Quick facts

In July 2022:

• There were 12.5 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older
  • 8.1 million (64.8%) were in the labour force. The labour force decreased in July (-15,500 or -0.2%) compared to June.
  • 7.7 million (61.4%) were employed, down by 27,400 (-0.4%) from June.
• Ontario's unemployment rate increased to 5.3% in July from 5.1% in June and 426,900 people were unemployed, up 11,800 (2.8%) from June.

Employment decreased in July

Employment in Ontario decreased in July by 27,400 (-0.4%), after decreasing by 24,700 (-0.3%) in June. A total of 7,687,000 people were employed in Ontario in July.

Employment in Canada declined by 30,600 (-0.2%) in July, after decreasing by 43,200 (-0.2%) in June. A total of 19,566,500 people were employed in Canada in July.

Chart 1 shows employment in Ontario from January 2005 to July 2022.

Full-time vs. part-time

Part-time job gains (30,100 or 2.2%) were offset by full-time job losses (-57,600 or -0.9%) in Ontario in July.

Employment change by sex and age

Employment decreased by 28,000 (-0.8%) to 3,639,400 for women in July after decreasing by 20,600 (-0.6%) in June. Employment was little changed (500 or 0.0%) for men, after decreasing by 4,000 (-0.1%) in June. Total male employment was 4,047,600 in July.

Youth (ages 15-24) employment increased by 5,800 (0.6%) to 1,026,300 in July, after decreasing by 13,600 (-1.3%) in June. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 decreased by 36,800 (-0.7%) to 4,990,400, after increasing by 15,900 (0.3%) in June. Employment for those aged 55 and older increased by 3,500 (0.2%) to 1,670,300, following a decrease of 27,000 (-1.6%) in June.

Employment change by industry

Ontario’s largest industry groups by employment in July include wholesale and retail trade (1,110,600 or 14.4% of total employment), health care and social assistance (916,400 or 11.9%), professional, scientific and technical services (801,300 or 10.4%), manufacturing (782,400 or 10.2%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (667,300 or 8.7%).

Six of the sixteen major industry groups recorded job gains in July. Manufacturing (13,400 or 1.7%), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (9,800 or 1.5%) and agriculture (7,800 or 12.0%) led job gains.

Employment declined in ten of the sixteen major industry groups in July. There were notable employment losses in wholesale and retail trade (-14,200 or -1.3%), educational services (-11,400 or -2.0%), information, culture and recreation (-9,600 or -2.8%), business, building and other support services (-7,700 or -2.6%) and accommodation and food services (-6,500 or -1.6%).

Chart 2 shows industries by employment change in Ontario, June 2022 to July 2022.

Employment change by occupation

Ontario’s largest occupational groups by employment in July included sales and service (1,704,900 or 21.9% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,321,700 or 17.0%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,018,000 or 13.1%), natural and applied sciences (811,600 or 10.4%), education, law and social, community and government services (797,600 or 10.3%) and management (796,800 or 10.2%).

Nine of the ten major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains in the first seven months of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. Sales and service (118,000 or 7.7%), management (91,400 or 13.5%), natural and applied sciences (84,800 or 11.9%) and business, finance and administration (68,600 or 5.4%) led job gains.

Employment losses were recorded in art, culture, recreation and sport (-5,900 or -2.8%).

Chart 3 shows occupations by employment change in Ontario, July 2021 (year-to-date) to July 2022 (year-to-date).

Employment change in urban centres

In July 2022, employment in all sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was at or above its July 2021 level, led by Toronto (241,200 or 7.2%) and followed by St. Catharines-Niagara (26,200 or 13.6%), Oshawa (23,700 or 11.6%), Ottawa-Gatineau (18,400 or 2.4%) and Belleville (16,200 or 36.2%).

Chart 4 shows employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from July 2021 to July 2022.

Unemployment rate increased to 5.3%

Chart 5 shows unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2005 to July 2022.

Ontario’s unemployment rate was 5.3% in July, up from 5.1% in June, which was the lowest rate since October 1989. July’s unemployment rate was well below the rate from July 2021 (8.1%).

Canada’s unemployment rate was 4.9% in July, matching the record low from June and well below the rate from a year ago (7.4%). The provincial unemployment rate has not been lower than the Canadian rate since June 2020, when the Ontario rate was 12.0% compared to the Canadian rate of 12.2%.

Unemployment rate by sex, age and visible minority status

The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 fell to 4.2% in July from 4.3% in June. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older increased to 4.7% in July from 4.0% in June.

For individuals aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate rose to 10.7% in July from 10.5% in June. The youth unemployment rate reached a record high of 29.5% in May 2020.

The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 fell to 4.2% in July from 4.3% in June. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older increased to 4.7% in July from 4.0% in June.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 7.5% in July in compared to a 4.5% rate for those who are not visible minorities and did not identify as Indigenous (data are for the population aged 15 years and over and are not adjusted for seasonality).

Unemployment rate by urban centre

In July, the average unemployment rate decreased from June in nine of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest decreases were seen in Guelph (4.5% in June to 3.2% in July), Kingston (6.0% to 5.4%), Barrie (6.0% to 5.4) and Brantford (3.9% to 3.4%).

Six CMAs had average unemployment rates that increased from June to July. The largest increases were seen in Belleville (2.0% in June to 3.6% in July), Windsor (5.4% to 6.5%) and St. Catharines-Niagara (4.5% to 4.9%).

The average unemployment rate was unchanged in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo.

Chart 6 shows the average unemployment rate for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in July 2022.

Long-term unemployment

In July, an average of 67,800 Ontarians or 15.9% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 71,200 or 17.2% of all unemployed people in June and 170,400 or 26.4% of all unemployed people a year earlier in July 2021. The long-term unemployed share declined for the second consecutive month in July, after not decreasing since February 2022 (-1.5%).

The average time in unemployment was 16.5 weeks in July, below the average in June (17.2 weeks) and well below the average in July 2021 (25.9 weeks).

Chart 7 shows Ontario’s long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2006 to July 2022.

Spotlight: Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

Chart 8 shows average hourly wages rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to July 2022.

The average hourly wage rate in Ontario for employees was $31.92 in July, above the average rate across Canada ($31.14). Ontario’s average hourly wage rate in July rose by $1.49 (4.9%) from $30.43 in July 2021, down from $1.59 (5.2%) in June.

July’s wage growth (4.9%) was lower than the growth seen in the Ontario Consumer Price Index as of June (7.9%). The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of inflation that represents changes in prices for goods and services as experienced by consumers.

The average hourly wage rate was $29.99 for women in July, rising by $1.27 (4.4%) from $28.72 a year ago. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $33.77, an increase of $1.68 (5.2%) from $32.09 in July 2021.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $19.00 in July, an increase of $0.64 (3.5%) from $18.36 in July 2021. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $35.00 in July, up $1.93 (5.8%) from $33.07 a year ago. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by $0.81 (2.5%) to $33.12 in July from $32.31 a year earlier.

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

1. Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas: $6.60 (+17.5%) to $44.32
2. Professional, scientific and technical services: $4.34 (+11.6%) to $41.60
3. Agriculture: $2.05 (+10.6%) to $41.60
4. Business, building and other support services: $2.05 (+9.0%) to $24.76

The industries with the largest decreases in average hourly wage rates in July 2022 compared to July 2021 were:

1. Other services (except public administration): $0.73 (-2.7%) to $26.19
2. Transportation and warehousing: $0.38 (-1.2%) to $30.31
3. Information, culture and recreation: $0.22 (-0.7%) to $29.45

Download data

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey

July 2022 Labour Market Report:

• CSV, Chart 1, employment in Ontario from January 2005 to July 2022, 1KB
• CSV, Chart 2, industries with highest and lowest employment change in Ontario, June 2022 to July 2022, 2KB
• CSV, Chart 3, employment change for occupations in Ontario from July 2021 (year-to-date) to July 2022 (year-to-date), 2KB
• CSV, Chart 4, employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from July 2021 to July 2022, 2KB
• CSV, Chart 5, unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2005 to July 2022, 2KB
• CSV, Chart 6,average unemployment rates for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), July 2022 1KB
• CSV, Chart 7, Ontario’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2006 to July 2022, 2KB
• CSV, Chart 8, average hourly wage rates for employees, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to July 2022, 2KB

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