July to September, 2023

Introduction

About the Ontario Employment Report

The Ontario Employment Report is released four times a year and provides an assessment of the current trends and developments in the Ontario labour market. The Ontario Employment Report is a companion report to the Ontario Economic Accounts, which provides an overall assessment of the current state of the Ontario economy.

Methodological note

In the current issue, year-over-year change represents change between the averages in the third quarter of 2022 and the third quarter of 2023. Note that the Ontario Economic Accounts report primarily shows changes between two consecutive quarters.

This report uses seasonally adjusted data in charts displaying data with a monthly frequency in the Overview section.

Unadjusted data are used in charts and tables showing the changes for the current quarter compared with the same quarter for the previous year. Unadjusted data are also used to calculate annual averages, year-to-date averages and 2023 third quarter averages.^{footnote 1[1]}

All estimates in this report are based on Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS), which measures the current state of the national provincial and territorial labour market. The LFS is based on a household survey carried out monthly by Statistics Canada in reference weeks of each month. The reference periods for the three months of the third quarter of 2023 are July 9 to 15, August 13 to 19, and September 11 to 16.

Overview

Ontario’s labour market overview

Employment:

• +201,600 net jobs in Q3 2023, year-over-year
• +176,600 net full-time jobs in Q3 2023, year-over-year
• +19,900 net jobs in September 2023
• +12,300 net full-time jobs in September 2023

Unemployment rate:

• 6.3% in the third quarter of 2023
• 6.0% in September 2023

Year-over-year, Ontario’s employment increased by 2.6% (+201,600) in the third quarter of 2023, while Canada’s employment also grew (+485,500, +2.4%).

Ontario’s unemployment rate was 6.3% in the third quarter of 2023, higher than the Canadian rate of 5.8%.

In September 2023, Ontario’s employment increased (+19,900, +0.3%), driven by gains in full-time employment (+12,300, +0.2%). Canada’s employment also increased in September 2023 (+63,800, +0.3%).

In September 2023, the unemployment rate in Ontario increased for the second consecutive month to 6.0% compared to 5.9% in August 2023 and 5.6% in July 2023. The unemployment rate in Canada remained unchanged from July to September 2023 at 5.5%.

Year-over-year overview

Ontario’s labour market, January 2014 – September 2023 (seasonally adjusted)

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Between the third quarters of 2022 and 2023:

• employment gains were driven by growth in full-time employment (+176,600, +2.7%) while part-time employment also increased (+25,100, +2.0%)
• employment increased in the private sector (+3.7%) and the public sector (+1.9%), and declined for those who are self-employed (-1.9%)
• employment increased in services-producing industries (+2.5%) and goods-producing industries (+3.0%)
• employment increased in most regions, with Southwestern Ontario (+3.2%) experiencing the highest rate of employment growth
• employment increased for all age groups with core-aged workers experiencing the highest rate of employment growth (+2.9%) compared to other age groups

Type of Work quarterly details

Employment change by work status, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022

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Year-over-year, full-time employment increased by 2.7% and part-time employment increased by 2.0% in the third quarter of 2023.

Employment change by employment sector, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022

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Year-over-year, employment increased by 3.7% for the private sector and 1.9% for the public sector^{footnote 2[2]}, and decreased by 1.9% for the self-employed.

Employment change by above-average wage and below-average wage industries, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022^{footnote 3[3]}

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Year-over-year, paid employment increased by 3.8% in above-average wage industries and by 3.0% in below-average wage industries.

Sector and occupation quarterly details

Employment change by industry, goods-producing industries, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022

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Employment in goods-producing industries increased by 3.0% in the third quarter of 2023, compared to the same period in 2022. The overall gain was driven by increases in manufacturing (+23,400, +2.9%), while the remaining industries also experienced employment increases, with agriculture reporting the largest rate of employment growth (+11,300, +15.2%).

Employment change by industry, services-producing industries, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022

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In the third quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, employment increased in the services-producing industries (+154,700, +2.5%). Eight services-producing industries experienced employment growth with health care and social assistance (+47,600, +5.1%) experiencing the largest employment gain and other services (except public administration) experiencing the largest rate of employment growth (+22,300, +8.8%). Three industry groups experienced a decline in employment with the largest decrease in business, building and other support services (-9,300, -3.1%).

Employment change by occupational group, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022^{footnote 4[4]}

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Year-over-year, business, finance and administration occupations (+68,900, +5.4%) experienced the largest employment gain followed by management occupations (+45,800, +5.7%) and occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (+41,700, +18.6%), which recorded the highest rate of employment growth. Three occupational groups experienced a decline in employment with the largest decrease in sales and service occupations (-15,800, -0.9%).

Geographic regions

Ontario regions^{footnote 5[5]}

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Employment change by Ontario region, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022^{footnote 6[6]}

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Year-over-year, employment increased in all Ontario regions in the third quarter of 2023. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) ^{footnote 7[7]} experienced the largest employment gain (+115,000, +3.1%), followed by Central Ontario (+30,600, +1.7%), Eastern Ontario (+28,900, +2.9%), Southwestern Ontario (+27,300, +3.2%) and Northern Ontario (+100, +0.0%). Southwestern Ontario had the highest rate of employment growth (+3.2%).

Unemployment rates by Ontario region, Q3 2023^{footnote 8[8]}

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In the third quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate increased in all regions. The GTA had the highest unemployment rate (7.1%), followed by Southwestern Ontario (6.2%). Eastern Ontario, Central Ontario, and Northern Ontario equally had the lowest unemployment rate (5.5%).

Participation rates by Ontario region, Q3 2023^{footnote 9[9]}

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In the third quarter of 2023, the labour force participation rate varied among economic regions, ranging from 58.7% in Northern Ontario to 67.9% in the GTA.

Age and gender quarterly details

Employment change by age group and gender, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022

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Compared to the same quarter last year, employment increased for all age groups in the third quarter of 2023. Core-aged workers aged 25 to 54 years posted the highest rate of employment growth (+2.9%), followed by older workers aged 55 years and over (+2.3%) and youth aged 15 to 24 years (+1.7%).

Year-over-year, employment increased more for males (+2.9%) than females (+2.2%).

Unemployment rates by age group and gender, Ontario, Q3 2023

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In the third quarter of 2023, youth had the highest unemployment rate (13.4%), followed by core-aged individuals (5.3%) and older individuals (4.4%). Compared to the same period last year, the unemployment rate increased by 2.1 percentage points for youth and 0.5 percentage point for core-aged individuals, but decreased by 0.4 percentage point for older individuals.

In the third quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate for females (7.1%) was higher than that for males (5.7%). Compared to the same period last year, the unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage point for males and 0.8 percentage point for females.

Participation rates by age group and gender, Ontario, Q3 2023

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In the third quarter of 2023, core-aged individuals had the highest labour force participation rate (88.1%), followed by youth (66.7%) and older individuals (37.7%). Compared to the third quarter of 2022, the participation rate decreased by 0.1 percentage point for youth, increased by 0.6 percentage point for the core-aged population and was unchanged for older individuals.

Males had a higher participation rate (70.8%) than females (61.6%) in the third quarter of 2023. Compared to the same period last year, the participation rate increased by 0.4 percentage point for females and 0.3 percentage point for males. The gap in labour force participation rates between males and females narrowed when compared to the third quarter of 2022 from 9.3 percentage points to 9.2 percentage points.

Education level and immigrant status quarterly details

Employment rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Ontario, Q3 2023^{footnote 10[10]}

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In the third quarter of 2023, core-aged individuals with less than a high school diploma continued to have the lowest employment rate (57.7%), while those with a university degree recorded the highest employment rate (87.6%), followed by those with a postsecondary certificate or diploma (85.5%).

Year-over-year, the employment rate decreased for those with a university degree (-0.1 percentage point) and high school graduates (-0.7 percentage point), but increased among those with less than high school (+1.2 percentage points) and those with a postsecondary certificate or diploma (+0.3 percentage point).

Those born in Canada had the highest employment rate (85.4%), while recent immigrants had the lowest employment rate (77.6%).

Year-over-year, the employment rate increased for the core-aged population born in Canada (+0.8 percentage point) and decreased for core-aged immigrants. Recent immigrants recorded the largest employment rate decrease (-1.0 percentage point).

Unemployment rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Ontario, Q3 2023^{footnote 11[11]}

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In the third quarter of 2023, the core-aged population with a university degree and those with a postsecondary certificate/diploma had the lowest unemployment rates (4.9% and 4.8%, respectively) while those with less than a high school diploma had the highest unemployment rate (8.3%).^{footnote 12[12]} Year-over-year, the unemployment rate of core-aged people edged up across most education levels. Those with a university degree recorded the largest increase in the unemployment rate (+0.8 percentage point).

Year-over-year, the unemployment rate increased for most groups by immigrant status, with the exception of very recent immigrants (-0.8 percentage point). In the third quarter of 2023, the core-aged population born in Canada had the lowest unemployment rate (4.5%), while very recent immigrants had the highest unemployment rate (7.9%).

Participation rates by education level and immigrant status (core-aged population), Ontario, Q3 2023^{footnote 13[13]}

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In the third quarter of 2023, among the core-aged population, those with a university degree continued to have the highest participation rate (92.2%), while those with less than a high school diploma had the lowest participation rate (63.3%). Year-over-year, the participation rate increased among every education level with the exception of those with high school attainment (-0.2 percentage point). Those with less than high school attainment recorded the largest increase in the participation rate (+1.0 percentage point).

In the third quarter of 2023, core-aged recent immigrants had the lowest participation rate (83.3%) compared to very recent immigrants, established immigrants and those born in Canada. Year-over-year, the participation rate increased for most groups by immigrant status with the exception of very recent immigrants (-1.0 percentage point). Those born in Canada recorded the largest increase in the participation rate (+0.9 percentage point).

Wages quarterly details

Average hourly wages by employment status, Ontario, 1997-2022

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Over the last two and a half decades, the average hourly wage increased in real terms^{footnote 14[14]} (i.e., after accounting for inflation) from $27.82 in 1997 to $32.94 in 2022, with the growth rate averaging 0.7% per year. Over this period, part-time workers experienced slightly higher average annual growth in real wages (+0.7%) compared to full-time workers (+0.6%).

Hourly wage growth by type of work, Ontario, Q3 2023 over Q3 2022^{footnote 15[15]}

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In the third quarter of 2023, the average hourly wage of Ontario employees was $34.71, an increase of 5.1% from the third quarter of 2022.^{footnote 16[16]}

Full-time employees (+5.5%), permanent employees (+5.5%) and employees with no union coverage (+6.4%) had a larger increase in the average hourly wage when compared to part-time employees (+2.3%), temporary employees (+1.2%) and employees with union coverage (+1.7%).

Consumer Price Index inflation over the third quarter of 2023 compared to the third quarter of 2022 was 3.5%.

Average hourly wage rate and wage growth by occupational group, Ontario, Q3 2023^{footnote 17[17]}

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Year-over-year, all broad occupational groups experienced growth in average hourly wages led by occupations in natural resources, agriculture and related production (+11.8%); occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (+8.0%) and occupations in manufacturing and utilities (+6.8%). Sales and service occupations (+1.9%) experienced the smallest increase in average hourly wages among broad occupational groups.

Appendix I

Overview of annual employment ten-year review, Ontario

Employment by region (000)

Unemployment rate by region (%)

Total employment by CMA (000)

Greater Toronto Area

Central Ontario

Eastern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario

Northern Ontario

Overview of quarterly employment year-over-year, Ontario

Employment by region (000)

Unemployment rate by region (%)

Total employment by CMA (000)

Greater Toronto Area

Central Ontario

Eastern Ontario

Southwestern Ontario

Northern Ontario

Overview of monthly* labour force characteristics, Ontario

*Seasonally adjusted

Note: All estimates in this appendix are based on Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey.