Labour market report, June 2022

Quick facts

In June 2022:

• There were 12.5 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older
  • 8.1 million (65.0%) were in the labour force. The labour force decreased in June (-57,300 or -0.7%) compared to May.
  • 7.7 million (61.7%) were employed, down by 24,700 (-0.3%) from May.
• Ontario's unemployment rate decreased to 5.1% in June from 5.5% in May and 415,100 people were unemployed, down 32,600 (-7.3%) from May.

Employment decreased in June

Employment in Ontario decreased in June by 24,700 (-0.3%), after little change (1,900 or 0.0%) in May. A total of 7,714,400 people were employed in Ontario in June.

Employment in Canada declined by 43,200 (-0.2%) in June, after increasing by 39,800 (0.2%) in May. A total of 19,597,100 people were employed in Canada in June.

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

Full-time vs. part-time

Full-time job gains (27,900 or 0.4%) were offset by part-time job losses (-52,500 or -3.7%) in Ontario in June.

Employment change by sex and age

Employment decreased by 20,600 (-0.6%) to 3,667,400 for women in June after increasing by 22,200 (0.6%) in May. Employment decreased by 4,000 (-0.1%) to 4,047,100 for men, after decreasing by 20,300 (-0.5%) in May.

Youth (ages 15-24) employment decreased by 13,600 (-1.3%) to 1,020,500 in June, after increasing by 14,000 (1.4%) in May. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 increased by 15,900 (0.3%) to 5,027,200, after increasing by 2,800 (0.1%) in May. Employment for those aged 55 and older decreased by 27,000 (-1.6%) to 1,666,800, following a decrease of 14,800 (-0.9%) in May.

Employment change by industry

Ontario’s largest industry groups by employment in June include wholesale and retail trade (1,120,700 or 14.5% of total employment), health care and social assistance (919,800 or 11.9%), professional, scientific and technical services (804,700 or 10.4%), manufacturing (769,000 or 10.0%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (657,500 or 8.5%).

In June, eight of the 16 major industry groups had employment levels that were above May levels. Construction (19,000 or 3.3%), public administration (7,500 or 1.8%), business, building and other support services (6,300 or 2.2%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (6,200 or 1.0%) led job gains.

Seven of the 16 major industry groups had employment levels that were below May levels. There were notable employment losses in wholesale and retail trade (-23,400 or -2.0%), health care and social assistance (-17,300 or -1.8%), information, culture and recreation (-7,600 or -2.2%) and professional, scientific and technical services (-7,100 or -0.9%).

Employment in transportation and warehousing was unchanged from May levels.

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

Employment change by occupation

Ontario’s largest occupational groups by employment in June include sales and service (1,694,200 or 20.9% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,362,800 or 17.4%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,023,600 or 13.1%), education, law and social, community and government services (911,600 or 11.6%) and natural and applied sciences (843,800 or 10.8%).

Nine of the ten major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains in the first six months of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. Sales and service (123,800 or 8.1%), management (87,900 or 13.0%), natural and applied sciences (87,500 or 12.4%) and business, finance and administration (84,400 or 6.7%) led job gains.

Employment losses were recorded in art, culture, recreation and sport (-5,600 or -2.6%).

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

Employment change in urban centres

In June 2022, employment in all 16 Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was at or above its June 2021 level, led by Toronto (280,700 or 8.5%) and followed by St. Catharines-Niagara (36,600 or 19.1%), Ottawa-Gatineau (31,100 or 4.0%), Oshawa (27,200 or 13.5%) and Belleville (16,000 or 37.0%).

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

Unemployment rate decreased to 5.1%

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

Ontario’s unemployment rate was 5.1% in June, the lowest rate since October 1989. June’s unemployment rate was below the rate in May (5.5%) and well below the rate from June 2021 (8.2%).

Canada’s unemployment rate reached a new record low of 4.9% in June, below the rate in May (5.1%) and well below the rate from a year ago (7.6%). 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 women decreased to 4.9% in June from 5.2% in May. The rate for men decreased to 5.3% in June from 5.7% in May.

For individuals aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate fell to 10.5% in June from 11.4% in May. The youth unemployment rate was 11.3% in February 2020 and reached a record high of 29.5% in May 2020

The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 fell to 4.3% in June from 4.7% in May. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older increased to 4.0% in June from 3.8% in May.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 7.2% in June 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 June, the average unemployment rate decreased from May in 13 of the 16 Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest decreases were seen in Guelph (5.4% in May to 4.5% in June), Belleville (2.9% to 2.0%), Ottawa-Gatineau (4.3% to 3.6%) and Brantford (4.6% to 3.9%).

Three CMAs had average unemployment rates that increased from May to June. The largest increases were seen in London (5.2% in May to 5.8% in June), Peterborough (5.9% to 6.2%) and Thunder Bay (4.1% to 4.3%).

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

Long-term unemployment

In June, an average of 71,200 Ontarians or 17.2% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 96,900 or 21.6% of all unemployed people in May and 204,000 or 31.3% of all unemployed people a year earlier in June 2021. The long-term unemployed share declined in June (-4.4%), the first decrease seen since February (-1.5%) and the largest decline since January (-5.9%). The average time in unemployment was 17.2 weeks in June, below the average in May (22.1 weeks) and well below the average in June 2021 (26.1 weeks).

The average time in unemployment was 22.1 weeks in May, unchanged from the average in April and slightly below the average in May 2021 (23.0 weeks).

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

Spotlight: Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

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

The average hourly wage rate in Ontario was $32.14 in June, above the average rate across Canada ($31.24). Ontario’s average hourly wage rate in June rose by $1.59 (5.2%) from June 2021, up from $1.01 (3.3%) in May.

Notably, June’s wage growth (5.2%) was lower than the growth seen in the Ontario Consumer Price Index as of May (7.8%). 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 $30.13 for women in June, rising by $1.34 (4.7%) from a year ago. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $34.09, an increase of $1.82 (5.6%) from June 2021.

For individuals aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $19.17 in June, an increase of $0.94 (5.2%) from June 2021. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $35.07 in June, up $2.06 (6.2%) from a year ago. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by $0.89 (2.8%) over the past year, reaching $33.08 in June.

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

1. Professional, scientific and technical services: $5.12 (+13.8%) to $42.31
2. Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas: $2.42 (+6.4%) to $40.41
3. Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing: $2.00 (+5.4%) to $38.79

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

1. Other services (except public administration): $0.69 (-2.5%) to $26.63
2. Information, culture and recreation: $0.09 (-0.3%) to $30.98
3. Transportation and warehousing: $0.06 (-0.2%) to $29.70

Download data

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey

June 2022 Labour Market Report:

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

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