Quick facts

In March 2018:

  • there were 11.8 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older
    • 7.6 million (64%) were either working or actively looking for work
    • 7.2 million (61%) were employed and 82% of them had a full time job
  • Ontario’s unemployment rate was 5.5% (420,000 unemployed people)

Employment increased in March

Employment in Ontario increased by 10,600 net jobs in March, following an increase of 15,700 in February.

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

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

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 282-0087, (seasonally adjusted data).
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Full-time vs. part-time

There was a gain in full-time jobs (16,300) in March. Part-time jobs declined by 5,700.

Employment increase or decrease by age

Youth employment (those aged 15 to 24) increased by 29,900 in March, after remaining unchanged in February.

People aged 25 to 54 decreased in employment by 11,900 in March compared to February. Those aged 55 and older lost 7,400 jobs.

Employment in Canada rose by 32,300 in March, following an increase of 15,400 jobs in February.

Unemployment rate remained at 5.5%

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

Line graph for Chart 2.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 282-0087, (seasonally adjusted data).
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Ontario’s unemployment rate remained at 5.5% in March, matching November 2017, January and February 2018 as the lowest unemployment rate since July 2000 (5.4%).

Canada’s unemployment rate was unchanged at  5.5%.

Unemployment rate by age

The unemployment rate for people aged 15 to 24 decreased to 11.2% in March from 11.8% in February.

The unemployment rates for people aged 25 to 54 remained at 4.4% in March and increased from 4.3% to 4.9% 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, March 2018.

Bar graph for chart 3.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 282-0135, (seasonally adjusted data to reduce volatility caused by small sample size).
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Barrie, Ontario (8.8%) recorded the highest unemployment rate in Canada in March, while, Québec City (3.6%) recorded the lowest unemployment rate.

Oshawa (4.5%) recorded the lowest unemployment rate in Ontario in March.

Year-over-year comparisons

Over the first three months of 2018, employment in Ontario increased by 75,300 net jobs for adults 25 years and older compared to a year earlier.

Employment increase and decrease by education level

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

Bar graph for chart 4.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 282-0003, unadjusted data.
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Adults with a university degree led gains, with 83,700 net new jobs.

Individuals with some postsecondary (PSE) recorded job gains of 38,500, while employment for those with certificates or diplomas decreased by 10,600.

People with less than high school education recorded a job loss of 27,000 and those with high school education recorded job losses of 30,500.

Unemployment rate by education level

The unemployment rate for adults aged 25 and older with PSE credentials was 4.0% over the first three months of 2018, down from 4.4% a year earlier.

The unemployment rate for adults without PSE credentials was 6.3%, down from 7.1% compared to the first three months of 2017.

Employment increase and decrease by occupation

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

Bar graph for chart 5.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 282-0041, unadjusted data.
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Four of the 10 major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains over the first three months of 2018 compared to a year earlier.

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

These occupations gained the most jobs:

  • management (115,100)
  • business, finance and administration (51,800)
  • manufacturing and utilities (22,400)

These occupations lost the most jobs:

  • sales and service (27,700)
  • health (27,000)
  • education, law and social, community and government services (20,900)

Long-term unemployment decreased

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

Bar graph for chart 6.

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Table 282-0047, unadjusted data.
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Over the first three months of 2018, an average of 70,800 people were long-term unemployed, or unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. This was down from 98,900 a year earlier.

Long-term unemployed individuals accounted for 16.5% of the total number of unemployed people over the first three months of 2018. This compared with 20.3% a year earlier.

The percentage of long-term unemployed individual is still higher compared to pre-recession level in March 2008 when 12.5% of all unemployed people were long-term unemployed.

Average time in long-term unemployment

The average time in unemployment decreased to 17.3 weeks over the first three months of 2018 from 20.3 weeks a year earlier.

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Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey

March 2018 Labour Market Report:

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