Ontario Economic Update
Access the September 19, 2025 update of the economy in the Ontario Economic Update, a weekly snapshot of the economy.
Economy
| Item | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Monthly: 2025 Aug | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Gross Domestic Product ($2017 millions) | – | – | – | – | 953,529 | 959,652 | N/A | 959,652 | 932,757 | 946,174 |
| Real Gross Domestic Product (% change) | – | – | – | – | 0.6 | 0.6 | N/A | 2.1 | 1.7 | 1.4 |
| Current Dollar Gross Domestic Product ($ millions) | – | – | – | – | 1,203,713 | 1,218,053 | N/A | 1,218,053 | 1,119,545 | 1,178,353 |
| Current Dollar Gross Domestic Product (% change) | – | – | – | – | 1.5 | 1.2 | N/A | 5.7 | 5.4 | 5.3 |
Employment
| Item | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Monthly: 2025 Aug | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment (000's) | 8,199 | 8,220 | 8,217 | 8,191 | 8,183 | 8,243 | 8,205 | 8,224 | 8,006 | 8,146 |
| Net New Jobs (000's) | 3.4 | 21.2 | −2.8 | −26.0 | 5.8 | 59.2 | −38.0 | 95.9 | 242.0 | 140.0 |
| Net New Jobs (% change) | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | −0.3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | −0.5 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 1.7 |
| Unemployment Rate (per cent) | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 5.6 | 7.0 |
| Average Weekly Wage Rate, | 1,374 | 1,365 | 1,385 | 1,392 | 1,369 | 1,362 | 1,367 | 1,370 | 1,279 | 1,339 |
| Average Weekly Wage Rate, nsa (% change) | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 2.7 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 4.7 |
| Employment Insurance Beneficiaries (regular) | 175,830 | 183,170 | 184,090 | N/A | 160,337 | 165,847 | 178,780 | 183,147 | 125,001 | 154,274 |
| Employment Insurance Beneficiaries (regular) (% change) | −0.9 | 4.2 | 0.5 | N/A | 1.0 | 3.4 | 7.8 | 13.5 | −10.1 | 23.4 |
Consumers
| Item | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Monthly: 2025 Aug | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales ($ millions) | 25,466 | 26,376 | 25,955 | N/A | 77,171 | 78,025 | 78,001 | 177,127 | 297,337 | 300,838 |
| Retail Sales (% change) | −2.6 | 3.6 | −1.6 | N/A | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| New Motor Vehicle Sales, | 76,146 | 73,641 | 72,574 | N/A | 180,512 | 175,894 | 226,897 | 475,365 | 718,015 | 764,392 |
| New Motor Vehicle Sales, nsa (% change) | 2.4 | 6.7 | 8.7 | N/A | 6.1 | 0.9 | 5.9 | 4.4 | 11.9 | 6.5 |
| Consumer Price Index (CPI), | 165.9 | 166.0 | 166.5 | 166.0 | 163.2 | 164.1 | 165.6 | 165.2 | 158.7 | 162.5 |
| Consumer Price Index (CPI), nsa (% change) | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 2.4 |
Housing
| Item | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Monthly: 2025 Aug | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Starts (000's) | 72.7 | 62.6 | 77.6 | 59.5 | 65.0 | 50.4 | 69.2 | 1.0 | 89.3 | 74.6 |
| Housing Starts (% change) | 3.3 | −13.9 | 24.0 | −23.4 | −15.6 | −22.4 | 37.3 | 110.0 | −7.1 | −16.5 |
| MLS Home Resales (units) | 12,806 | 13,440 | 14,475 | 14,483 | 45,748 | 36,950 | 37,970 | 110,901 | 161,784 | 169,352 |
| MLS Home Resales (% change) | 9.2 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 0.1 | 14.2 | −19.2 | 2.8 | −5.7 | −12.0 | 4.7 |
Business
| Item | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Monthly: 2025 Aug | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing Sales ($ millions) | 30,583 | 29,808 | 30,644 | N/A | 92,483 | 94,601 | 90,969 | 215,985 | 389,693 | 371,638 |
| Manufacturing Sales (% change) | 0.0 | −2.5 | 2.8 | N/A | 0.6 | 2.3 | −3.8 | −1.0 | 5.3 | −4.6 |
| Internal Merchandise Exports, nsa ($ millions) | 22,626 | 21,157 | 21,179 | N/A | 66,566 | 69,968 | 63,867 | 155,015 | 252,105 | 252,327 |
| International Merchandise Exports, nsa (% change) | 8.8 | 1.2 | 11.3 | N/A | 6.3 | 11.7 | 1.1 | 7.0 | 9.6 | 0.1 |
| International Merchandise Imports, ($ millions) | 41,159 | 38,675 | 37,285 | N/A | 118,695 | 117,857 | 119,659 | 274,802 | 457,930 | 464,331 |
| International Merchandise Imports, nsa (% change) | 3.7 | −2.7 | −1.3 | N/A | 2.7 | 7.7 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 1.4 |
| Wholesale Trade ($ millions) | 46,483 | 46,955 | 47,732 | N/A | 141,019 | 141,922 | 139,603 | 325,752 | 546,362 | 548,383 |
| Wholesale Trade (% change) | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.7 | N/A | 2.7 | 0.6 | −1.6 | 3.9 | 11.4 | 0.4 |
| Non-residential Building Permits ($ millions) | 3,420 | 2,269 | 2,090 | N/A | 5,850 | 5,134 | 7,743 | 14,845 | 21,323 | 25,182 |
| Non-residential Building Permits (% change) | 66.5 | −33.7 | −7.9 | N/A | −15.2 | −12.2 | 50.8 | 5.8 | 13.3 | 18.1 |
| Private and Public Investment ($ millions) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 110,613 | 116,413 |
| Private and Public Investment (% change) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 17.0 | 5.2 |
Notes
All monthly and quarterly data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified with nsa "." Per cent change for seasonally unadjusted (nsa) data is calculated on a year-to-year basis.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Ontario Ministry of Finance, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Canadian Real Estate Association.
Contact us
For further information, please contact us at:
Ministry of Finance
Economic Analysis Unit
Macroeconomics and Revenue Branch
Office of Economic Policy
6th Floor, Frost Building North
95 Grosvenor Street
Toronto ON M7A 1Z1
Updated: September 22, 2025
Published: March 27, 2022
Footnotes
- footnote[1] Back to paragraph GDP levels are expressed at annual rates.
- footnote[2] Back to paragraph Monthly and quarterly housing starts are expressed at seasolly adjusted annual rates. Year-to-date housing starts are based on actual unadjusted urban-area data.
- footnote[3] Back to paragraph International merchandise trade is reported on a customs basis.