Ontario Economic Update
Access the August 29, 2025 update of the economy in the Ontario Economic Update, a weekly snapshot of the economy.
Economy
| Item | Monthly: 2025 Apr | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | 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 Apr | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment (000's) | 8,195 | 8,199 | 8,220 | 8,217 | 8,183 | 8,243 | 8,205 | 8,223 | 8,006 | 8,146 |
| Net New Jobs (000's) | −34.6 | 3.4 | 21.2 | −2.8 | 5.8 | 59.2 | −38.0 | 106.3 | 242.0 | 140.0 |
| Net New Jobs (% change) | −0.4 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | −0.5 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 1.7 |
| Unemployment Rate (per cent) | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.4 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.8 | 5.6 | 7.0 |
| Average Weekly Wage Rate, | 1,361 | 1,374 | 1,365 | 1,385 | 1,369 | 1,362 | 1,367 | 1,367 | 1,279 | 1,339 |
| Average Weekly Wage Rate, nsa (% change) | 3.5 | 4.8 | 3.6 | 3.1 | 4.8 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 3.6 | 5.0 | 4.7 |
| Employment Insurance Beneficiaries (regular) | 177,340 | 174,400 | 182,260 | N/A | 160,337 | 165,847 | 178,000 | 176,620 | 125,001 | 154,274 |
| Employment Insurance Beneficiaries (regular) (% change) | 5.7 | −1.7 | 4.5 | N/A | 1.0 | 3.4 | 7.3 | 13.2 | −10.1 | 23.4 |
Consumers
| Item | Monthly: 2025 Apr | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales ($ millions) | 26,183 | 25,517 | 26,331 | N/A | 77,171 | 78,025 | 78,031 | 150,142 | 297,337 | 300,838 |
| Retail Sales (% change) | 0.2 | −2.5 | 3.2 | N/A | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| New Motor Vehicle Sales, | 77,110 | 76,146 | 73,661 | N/A | 180,512 | 175,894 | 226,917 | 402,811 | 718,015 | 764,392 |
| New Motor Vehicle Sales, nsa (% change) | 8.7 | 2.4 | 6.7 | N/A | 6.1 | 0.9 | 5.9 | 3.6 | 11.9 | 6.5 |
| Consumer Price Index (CPI), | 164.8 | 165.9 | 166.0 | 166.5 | 163.2 | 164.1 | 165.6 | 165.1 | 158.7 | 162.5 |
| Consumer Price Index (CPI), nsa (% change) | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 2.4 |
Housing
| Item | Monthly: 2025 Apr | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Starts (000's) | 70.4 | 72.7 | 62.7 | 77.9 | 65.0 | 50.4 | 69.2 | 1.0 | 89.3 | 74.6 |
| Housing Starts (% change) | 79.5 | 3.2 | −13.7 | 24.2 | −15.6 | −22.4 | 37.3 | 110.0 | −7.1 | −16.5 |
| MLS Home Resales (units) | 11,714 | 12,791 | 13,429 | 14,464 | 45,742 | 36,957 | 37,934 | 96,594 | 161,779 | 169,343 |
| MLS Home Resales (% change) | 3.3 | 9.2 | 5.0 | 7.7 | 14.1 | −19.2 | 2.6 | −7.1 | −12.0 | 4.7 |
Business
| Item | Monthly: 2025 Apr | Monthly: 2025 May | Monthly: 2025 Jun | Monthly: 2025 Jul | Quarterly: 2024 Q4 | Quarterly: 2025 Q1 | Quarterly: 2025 Q2 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2023 | Annual: 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing Sales ($ millions) | 30,633 | 30,582 | 29,909 | N/A | 92,483 | 94,601 | 91,124 | 186,108 | 389,693 | 371,638 |
| Manufacturing Sales (% change) | −2.7 | −0.2 | −2.2 | N/A | 0.6 | 2.3 | −3.7 | −1.1 | 5.3 | −4.6 |
| Internal Merchandise Exports, nsa ($ millions) | 20,068 | 22,637 | 21,183 | N/A | 66,566 | 69,972 | 63,887 | 133,859 | 252,105 | 252,327 |
| International Merchandise Exports, nsa (% change) | −6.5 | 8.8 | 1.3 | N/A | 6.3 | 11.7 | 1.1 | 6.4 | 9.6 | 0.1 |
| International Merchandise Imports, ($ millions) | 39,800 | 41,084 | 38,258 | N/A | 118,695 | 117,912 | 119,142 | 237,055 | 457,930 | 464,331 |
| International Merchandise Imports, nsa (% change) | 1.0 | 3.5 | −3.7 | N/A | 2.7 | 7.8 | 0.3 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 1.4 |
| Wholesale Trade ($ millions) | 46,167 | 46,445 | 46,700 | N/A | 141,019 | 141,922 | 139,311 | 277,957 | 546,362 | 548,383 |
| Wholesale Trade (% change) | −2.2 | 0.6 | 0.5 | N/A | 2.7 | 0.6 | −1.8 | 3.7 | 11.4 | 0.4 |
| Non-residential Building Permits ($ millions) | 2,054 | 3,383 | 2,224 | N/A | 5,850 | 5,134 | 7,661 | 12,313 | 21,323 | 25,182 |
| Non-residential Building Permits (% change) | 18.6 | 64.7 | −34.3 | N/A | −15.2 | −12.2 | 49.2 | 6.0 | 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: August 29, 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.