Labour market report, September 2024

Quick facts

In September 2024:

• There were 13.4 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or
  • 8.7 million (65.0%) were in the labour force. The labour force increased by 22,600 (0.3%) in September compared to August.
  • 8.1 million (60.5%) were employed, up by 43,200 (0.5%) from August.
• Ontario's unemployment rate decreased to 6.9% in September from 7.1% in August and 600,300 people were unemployed, down by 20,700 (−3.3%) from August.

Employment increased in September

Employment in Ontario increased by 43,200 (0.5%) in September, after little change in August (−8,400 or −0.1%). A total of 8,112,000 people were employed in Ontario in September.

Employment in Canada increased by 46,700 (0.2%) in September, after little change in August (22,100 or 0.1%). A total of 20,582,400 people were employed in Canada in September.

Chart 1 shows employment in Ontario from January 2015 to September 2024.

Full-time vs. part-time

Full-time employment increased by 49,800 (0.8%) in September, while part-time employment decreased by 6,600 (−0.5%).

Employment change by sex and age

Employment for men increased by 29,400 (0.7%) in September, after increasing by 9,300 (0.2%) in August. Total male employment was 4,269,400 in September. Employment for women increased by 13,900 (0.4%) in September, after decreasing by 17,800 (−0.5%) in August. Total female employment was 3,842,600 in September.

Youth (aged 15 to 24) employment increased by 32,500 (3.1%) in September for a total of 1,067,500, after decreasing by 7,300 (−0.7%) in August. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 increased by 16,300 (0.3%) to 5,345,900 in September, after decreasing by 3,900 (−0.1%) in August. Employment for those aged 55 and older decreased by 5,400 (−0.3%) to 1,698,700 in September, after increasing by 2,700 (0.2%) August.

Employment change by industry

Ontario’s largest industry groups by employment in September were wholesale and retail trade (1,102,100 or 13.6% of total employment), health care and social assistance (1,014,000 or 12.5%), professional, scientific and technical services (904,500 or 11.2%), manufacturing (803,500 or 9.9%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (728,700 or 9.0%).

Wholesale and retail trade (15,200 or 1.4%), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (11,300 or 1.6%) and professional, scientific and technical services (8,400 or 0.9%) led job gains in September.

Notable employment losses occurred in health care and social assistance (−10,300 or −1.0%), manufacturing (−4,800 or −0.6%) and forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas (−2,100 or −5.3%) in September.

Chart 2 shows industries by employment change in Ontario, August 2024 to September 2024.

Employment change by occupation

Ontario’s largest occupational groups by employment in September were sales and service (1,671,900 or 20.6% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,304,600 or 16.1%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,150,600 or 14.2%) and occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (963,300 or 11.9%).

Six of the ten major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains in the first nine months of 2024 when compared to the same period in 2023. Management occupations (62,000 or 7.5%) led job gains, followed by occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (46,100 or 5.2%) and natural and applied sciences and related occupations (44,300 or 5.9%).

Notable employment losses were recorded in business, finance and administration occupations (−28,100 or −2.1%), sales and service occupations (−18,400 or −1.1%) and trades, transport and equipment operators (−13,500 or −1.2%).

Chart 3 shows occupations by annual employment change in Ontario, September 2023 to September 2024.

Employment change in urban centres

In September 2024, employment in nine of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was above their September 2023 level, led by Toronto (64,400 or 1.7%) and followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (10,500 or 1.2%) and Hamilton (10,000 or 2.4%).

Notable employment losses in September were recorded in Belleville (−12,300 or −20.5%), Peterborough (−6,600 or −9.4%) and London (−3,500 or −1.1%).

Chart 4 shows employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from September 2023 to September 2024.

Unemployment rate decreased to 6.9%

Ontario’s unemployment rate decreased to 6.9% in September from 7.1% in August. The provincial unemployment rate has increased significantly since falling to a near-record low in April 2023 (5.1%).

The Canadian unemployment rate decreased to 6.5% in September from 6.6% in August. The national unemployment rate has also increased significantly since April 2023 (5.1%).

Chart 5 shows unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to September 2024.

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

The unemployment rate for women decreased to 6.4% in September from 6.6% in August. The rate for men was 7.3% in September, down from 7.6% in August.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate decreased to 15.8% in September from 17.5% in August. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to 5.6% in September from 5.5% in August. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older decreased to 4.8% in September from 5.0% in August.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 9.7% in September compared to a 6.0% 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 8.0% in September compared to a 6.7% 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 5 less years earlier) (11.8%), 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) (6.4%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

In Ontario, the unemployment rate for the Indigenous population was estimated at 9.7% in September compared to a 7.4% rate for the non-Indigenous population. The unemployment rate for the Indigenous population includes the rates for First Nations people living off reserve (12.8%) and individuals who identify as Métis (5.9%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

Unemployment rate by urban centre

In September, the average unemployment rate decreased from August in eight of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest decreases were seen in Belleville (5.9% in August to 3.6% in September), Barrie (6.5% to 5.9%) and Hamilton (6.7% to 6.2%).

Six CMAs had average unemployment rates that increased in September, led by Thunder Bay (3.7% in August to 4.5% in September), Guelph (4.7% to 5.3%) and Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (7.1% to 7.6%).

The average unemployment rate was unchanged in Toronto (8.0%) and Brantford (7.0%) in September.

Chart 6 shows the average unemployment rate for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in September 2024.

Long-term unemployment

In September, an estimated 134,500 Ontarians or 22.4% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 132,700 Ontarians or 21.4% of all unemployed people in August and 81,900 or 16.1% of all unemployed people a year earlier in September 2023.

The average time in unemployment was 21.4 weeks in September, slightly above the average in August (21.3 weeks) and well above the average in September 2023 (17.7 weeks).

Chart 7 shows Ontario’s long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2015 to September 2024.

Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

The average hourly wage rate in Ontario for employees was $37.10 in September, above the average rate across Canada ($35.59). Ontario’s average hourly wage rate in September rose by 5.7% on a year-over-year basis (by $2.00 from $35.10 in September 2023) which was slightly below the 5.8% increase in August.

September’s wage growth (5.7%) was well above the growth seen in the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of September (1.9%). 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 2015 to September 2024.

The average hourly wage rate was $34.30 for women in September, rising by 5.1% ($1.67) from $32.63 in September 2023. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $39.78, an increase of 6.1% ($2.28) from $37.50 a year earlier.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $21.85 in September, an increase of 7.2% ($1.46) from $20.39 in September 2023. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $39.98 in September, up 6.0% ($2.27) from $37.71 a year earlier. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by 4.0% ($1.46) to $38.25 in September from $36.79 a year earlier.

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

1. Utilities: +16.1% ($8.22) to $59.41
2. Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas: +11.7% ($5.07) to $48.36
3. Information, culture and recreation: +11.6% ($3.80) to $36.48

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

1. Agriculture: -18.0% (−$5.21) to $23.72
2. Business, building and other support services: -0.8% (−$0.21) to $26.42

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

September 2024 Labour Market Report:

• CSV, Chart 1, employment in Ontario from January 2015 to September 2024, 1Kb
• CSV, Chart 2, industries with highest and lowest employment change in Ontario, August 2024 to September 2024, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 3, employment change for occupations in Ontario from September 2023 to September 2024, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 4, employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from August 2024 to September 2024, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 5, unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to September 2024, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 6, , average unemployment rates for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), September 2024, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 7, Ontario’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2015 to September 2024, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 8, year-over-year percentage change in Ontario’s average hourly wage rate and the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), January 2015 to September 2024, 2Kb

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