Labour market report, December 2023

Quick facts

In December 2023:

• There were 13.0 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older
  • 8.4 million (64.8%) were in the labour force. The labour force decreased by 32,300 (-0.4%) in December compared to November.
  • 7.9 million (60.8%) were employed, down by 48,000 (-0.6%) from November.
• Ontario's unemployment rate increased to 6.3% in December from 6.1% in November and 528,100 people were unemployed, up by 15,700 (3.1%) from November.

Employment decreased in December

Employment in Ontario decreased in December (-48,000 or -0.6%), after little change in November (6,500 or 0.1%). A total of 7,904,400 people were employed in Ontario in December.

Employment in Canada was little changed in December (100 or 0.0%), after little change in November (24,900 or 0.1%). A total of 20,312,600 people were employed in Canada in December.

Chart 1 shows employment in Ontario from January 2015 to December 2023.

On an annual basis, employment in Ontario increased by 183,200 (2.4%) in 2023, following an increases of 338,300 (4.6%) in 2022 and 367,400 (5.2%) in 2021.

Full-time vs. part-time

Full-time employment decreased by 22,700 (-0.3%) in December, while part-time employment decreased by 25,200 (-1.8%).

Employment change by sex and age

Employment decreased by 37,900 (-0.9%) for men in December, after increasing by 6,100 (0.1%) in November. Total male employment was 4,146,200 in December. Employment for women decreased by 10,100 (-0.3%) in December, after little change in November (500 or 0.0%). Total female employment was 3,758,200 in December.

Youth (aged 15 to 24) employment decreased by 3,700 (-0.4%) in December to 1,016,300, after decreasing by 6,000 (-0.6%) in November. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 decreased by 30,100 (-0.6%) in December to 5,173,200, after increasing by 13,400 (0.3%) in November. Employment for those aged 55 and older decreased by 14,200 (-0.8%) to 1,714,900 in December, after decreasing by 900 (-0.1%) in November.

Employment change by industry

Ontario’s largest industry groups by employment in December were wholesale and retail trade (1,083,700 or 13.7% of total employment), health care and social assistance (972,200 or 12.3%), professional, scientific and technical services (872,500 or 11.0%), manufacturing (807,500 or 10.2%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (659,400 or 8.3%).

Eleven of the sixteen major industry groups recorded job losses in December. Construction (-19,900 or -3.3%), wholesale and retail trade (-11,900 or -1.1%), information, culture and recreation (-8,400 or -2.6%) and manufacturing (-7,400 or -0.9%) experienced notable employment losses.

Five of the sixteen major industry groups recorded job gains in December, including professional, scientific and technical services (20,000 or 2.3%), public administration (4,000 or 0.9%) and utilities (3,100 or 5.1%).

Chart 2 shows industries by employment change in Ontario, November 2023 to December 2023.

Employment change by occupation

Ontario’s largest occupational groups by employment in December were sales and service (1,636,900 or 20.7% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,320,200 or 16.7%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,085,300 or 13.7%) and occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (926,000 or 11.7%).

Seven of the ten major occupational groups in Ontario had net gains in annual employment between 2022 and 2023. Management occupations (66,600 or 8.7%) led job gains, followed by trades, transport and equipment operators and related occupations (54,800 or 5.2%), business, finance and administration occupations (34,900 or 2.7%) and occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (26,000 or 12.3%).

Annual employment losses were recorded in occupations in manufacturing and utilities (-12,700 or -3.3%), sales and service occupations (-6,800 or -0.4%) and natural resources, agriculture and related production occupations (-3,000 or -3.1%).

Chart 3 shows occupations by annual employment change in Ontario, 2022 to 2023.

Employment change in urban centres

In December 2023, employment in ten of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was above their December 2022 level, led by Toronto (121,300 or 3.4%) and followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (37,300 or 4.6%), London (18,100 or 6.1%) and Peterborough (6,800 or 10.4%).

Notable employment losses in December were recorded in Belleville (-8,900 or -16.2%), Barrie (-6,400 or -5.0%) and Hamilton (-3,000 or -0.7%).

Chart 4 shows employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from December 2022 to December 2023.

Unemployment rate increased to 6.3%

Ontario’s unemployment rate increased to 6.3% in December from 6.1% in November. December’s unemployment was the highest recorded since December 2021 (6.4%). The provincial unemployment rate has increased significantly since falling to a near-record low in April 2023 (4.9%).

The Canadian unemployment rate remained at 5.8% in December. The national unemployment has steadily risen since April 2023 (5.0%).

Chart 5 shows unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to December 2023.

Ontario’s annual unemployment rate was 5.7% in 2023, above the annual rate of 5.6% in 2022 but below the annual rate of 8.1% in 2021.

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

The unemployment rate for women remained at 6.0% in December. The rate for men was 6.5% in December, up from 6.1% in November.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate rose to 13.6% in December from 13.3% in November. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 increased to 5.3% in December from 5.1% in November. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older increased to 4.6% in December from 4.4% in November.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 8.3% in December compared to a 5.0% 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).

In Ontario, the unemployment rate for the Indigenous population was estimated at 9.5% in December compared to a 6.2% rate for the non-Indigenous population. The unemployment rate for the Indigenous population includes the rate for First Nations people living off reserve (9.1%) and individuals who identify as Métis (9.4%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

Unemployment rate by urban centre

In December, the average unemployment rate increased from November in nine of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest increases were seen in Barrie (4.7% in November to 6.7% in December), Peterborough (2.3% to 3.4%) and Windsor (7.6% to 8.1%).

Six CMAs had average unemployment rates that decreased in December, led by Belleville (4.9% in November to 4.0% in December), Thunder Bay (4.8% to 4.3%), Guelph (5.8% to 5.0%) and Oshawa (7.3% to 7.0%).

The average unemployment rate was unchanged in Ottawa-Gatineau (4.6%) in December.

Chart 6 shows the average unemployment rate for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in December 2023.

Long-term unemployment

In December, an estimated 95,800 Ontarians or 18.1% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 93,800 Ontarians or 18.3% of all unemployed people in November and 79,800 or 18.2% of all unemployed people a year earlier in December 2022.

On an annual basis, the proportion of all unemployed people who were long-term unemployed was 16.7% in 2023. This was below the percentages in 2022 (18.2%) and 2021 (28.2%).

The average time in unemployment was 16.6 weeks in December, below the average in November (18.3 weeks) and well below the average in December 2022 (20.3 weeks).

On an annual basis, the average time in unemployment was 17.6 weeks in 2023, below the averages in 2022 (19.7 weeks) and 2021 (23.0 weeks).

Chart 7 shows Ontario’s long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2015 to December 2023.

Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

The average hourly wage rate in Ontario for employees was $35.72 in December, above the average rate across Canada ($34.45). Ontario’s average hourly wage rate in December rose by 6.5% on a year-over-year basis (by $2.17 from $33.55 in December 2022) which was above the 5.4% increase in November.

December’s wage growth (6.5%) was well above the growth seen in the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of November (3.3%). 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 December 2023.

The average hourly wage rate was $33.10 for women in December, rising by 6.0% ($1.88) from $31.22 in December 2022. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $38.34, an increase of 7.0% ($2.51) from $35.83 a year earlier.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $20.87 in December, an increase of 4.9% ($0.97) from $19.90 in December 2022. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $38.37 in December, up 5.7% ($2.06) from $36.31 a year earlier. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by 8.0% ($2.77) to $37.51 in December from $34.74 a year earlier.

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

1. Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas: +13.0% ($5.52) to $47.88
2. Transportation and warehousing: +11.7% ($3.45) to $32.97
3. Wholesale and retail trade: +11.7% ($2.96) to $28.29

Only three industries experienced a decrease in average hourly wage rate in December compared to a year earlier:

1. Building, business and other support services: -0.5% (-$0.14) to $26.12
2. Utilities: -0.5% (-$0.24) to $52.23
3. Educational services: -0.3% (-$0.13) to $39.57

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

December 2023 Labour Market Report:

• CSV, Chart 1, employment in Ontario from January 2015 to December 2023, 1Kb
• CSV, Chart 2, industries with highest and lowest employment change in Ontario, November 2023 to December 2023, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 3, employment change for occupations in Ontario from 2022 to 2023, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 4, employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from December 2022 to December 2023, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 5, unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to December 2023, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 6, average unemployment rates for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), December 2023, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 7, Ontario’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2015 to December 2023, 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 December 2023, 2Kb

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