Labour market report, January 2025

Quick facts

In January 2025:

• There were 13.6 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older
  • 8.9 million (65.4%) were in the labour force. The labour force increased by 45,200 (0.5%) in January compared to December.
  • 8.2 million (60.5%) were employed, up by 39,000 (0.5%) from December.
• Ontario's unemployment rate increased to 7.6% in January from 7.5% in December and 674,800 people were unemployed, up by 6,300 (0.9%) from December.

LFS data revisions were published in January 2025. As a result, data included in this report may not align with previous labour market reports.

Employment increased in January

Employment in Ontario increased by 39,000 (0.5%) in January, after increasing by 31,700 (0.4%) in December. A total of 8,240,400 people were employed in Ontario in January.

Employment in Canada increased by 76,000 (0.4%) in January, after increasing by 91,000 (0.4%) in December. A total of 20,993,400 people were employed in Canada in January.

Chart 1 shows employment in Ontario from January 2015 to January 2025.

Full-time vs. part-time

Full-time employment increased by 51,000 (0.8%) in January, while part-time employment decreased by 12,100 (-0.8%).

Employment change by sex and age

Employment for men increased by 14,400 (0.3%) in January, after increasing by 31,800 (0.7%) in December. Total male employment was 4,370,800 in January. Employment for women increased by 24,600 (0.6%) in January, after decreasing by 100 (-0.0%) in December. Total female employment was 3,869,600 in January.

Youth (aged 15 to 24) employment increased by 18,900 (1.8%) in January for a total of 1,051,400, after decreasing by 16,700 (-1.6%) in December. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 increased by 21,700 (0.4%) in January to 5,436,300, after increasing by 11,300 (0.2%) in December. Employment for those aged 55 and older decreased by 1,700 (-0.1%) in January to 1,752,700, after increasing by 37,100 (2.2%) in December.

Employment change by industry

Ontario’s largest industry groups by employment in January were wholesale and retail trade (1,117,000 or 13.6% of total employment), health care and social assistance (1,023,200 or 12.4%), professional, scientific and technical services (916,100 or 11.1%), manufacturing (828,800 or 10.1%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (700,300 or 8.5%).

Health care and social assistance (16,100 or 1.6%), accommodation and food services (12,500 or 3.0%), information, culture and recreation (11,200 or 3.2%) and manufacturing (11,000 or 1.3%) led job gains in January.

Notable employment losses occurred in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (-9,900 or -1.4%), other services (except public administration) (-8,000 or -2.8%) and wholesale and retail trade (-7,200 or -0.6%) in January.

Chart 2 shows industries by employment change in Ontario, December 2024 to January 2025.

Employment change by occupation

Ontario’s largest occupational groups by employment in January were sales and service (1,616,400 or 19.3% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,359,000 or 16.7%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,060,600 or 13.0%) and occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (959,500 or 11.8%).

Five of the ten major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains in January 2025 when compared to January 2024. Health occupations (89,000 or 15.9%) led job gains, followed by natural and applied sciences and related occupations (81,800 or 10.3%) and occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (46,000 or 20.5%).

Notable employment losses were recorded in management occupations (-25,500 or -2.8%), trades, transport and equipment operators (-12,300 or -1.1%) and occupations in manufacturing and utilities (-8,700 or -2.3%).

Chart 3 shows occupations by annual employment change in Ontario, January 2024 to January 2025.

Employment change in urban centres

In January 2025, employment in ten of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was above their January 2024 level, led by Toronto (88,600 or 2.4%) and followed by Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (29,400 or 8.1%), Windsor (13,600 or 5.9%) and Ottawa-Gatineau (11,100 or 1.3%).

Notable employment losses in January were recorded in Belleville - Quinte West (-16,700 or -36.0%), Guelph (-8,800 or -8.2%) and Hamilton (-7,600 or -1.8%).

Chart 4 shows employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from January 2024 to January 2025.

Unemployment rate increased to 7.6%

Ontario’s unemployment rate increased to 7.6% in January from 7.5% in December. The provincial unemployment rate has increased significantly since falling to a near-record low in April 2023 (5.0%).

The Canadian unemployment rate decreased to 6.6% in January from 6.7% in December. The national unemployment rate has also increased significantly since March 2023 (5.0%).

Chart 5 shows unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to January 2025.

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

The unemployment rate for women increased to 7.5% in January from 7.3% in December. The rate for men was 7.7% in January, unchanged from December.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate decreased to 17.1% in January from 18.0% in December. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to 6.4% in January from 6.2% in December. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older was 4.6% in January, unchanged from December.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 9.7% in January compared to a 5.6% 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 7.5% in January compared to a 6.4% 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) (10.1%), recent immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed more than 5 to 10 years earlier) (9.2%) and established immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed more than 10 years earlier) (6.5%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

In Ontario, the unemployment rate for the Indigenous population was estimated at 11.2% in January compared to a 7.3% rate for the non-Indigenous population. The unemployment rate for the Indigenous population includes the rates for First Nations people living off reserve (13.8%) and individuals who identify as Métis (7.7%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

Unemployment rate by urban centre

In January, the average unemployment rate increased from December in ten of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest increases were seen in Belleville – Quinte West (3.3% in December to 8.3% in January), Peterborough (5.1% to 6.1%), Guelph (7.2% to 7.8%) and Greater Sudbury (5.4% to 5.9%).

Five CMAs had average unemployment rates that decreased in January, led by St. Catharines-Niagara (6.7% in December to 6.1% in January), Barrie (6.0% to 5.8%) and Ottawa-Gatineau (5.9% to 5.7%).

The average unemployment rate was unchanged in Thunder Bay (5.1%) in January.

Chart 6 shows the average unemployment rate for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in January 2025.

Long-term unemployment

In January, an estimated 180,500 Ontarians or 26.7% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 162,800 Ontarians or 24.4% of all unemployed people in December and 104,400 or 19.8% of all unemployed people a year earlier in January 2024.

The average time in unemployment was 24.9 weeks in January, slightly above the average in December (24.6 weeks) and well above the average in January 2024 (19.1 weeks).

Chart 7 shows Ontario’s long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2015 to January 2025.

Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

The average hourly wage rate in Ontario for employees was $37.29 in January, above the average rate across Canada ($35.99). Ontario’s average hourly wage rate in January rose by 3.3% on a year-over-year basis (by $1.18 from $36.11 in January 2024) which was below the 4.7% increase from December 2024.

January’s wage growth (3.3%) was above the growth seen in the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of December (1.7%). 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 January 2025.

The average hourly wage rate was $34.56 for women in January, rising by 2.4% ($0.81) from $33.75 in January 2024. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $39.93, an increase of 3.9% ($1.50) from $38.43 a year earlier.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $21.97 in January, an increase of 3.1% ($0.67) from $21.30 in January 2024. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $39.81 in January, up 2.7% ($1.04) from $38.77 a year earlier. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by 6.1% ($2.25) to $39.31 in January from $37.06 a year earlier.

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

1. Agriculture: +17.1% ($4.08) to $27.88
2. Utilities: +12.0% ($6.32) to $58.99
3. Forestry, fishing, mining, quarrying, oil and gas: +9.0% ($3.88) to $46.81

Only one industry experienced a decrease in their average hourly wage rate in January compared to a year earlier:

1. Wholesale and retail trade: -1.1% (-$0.32) to $28.11

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

January 2025 Labour Market Report:

• CSV, Chart 1, employment in Ontario from January 2015 to January 2025, 1Kb
• CSV, Chart 2, industries with highest and lowest employment change in Ontario, December 2024 to January 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 3, employment change for occupations in Ontario from January 2024 to January 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 4, employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from January 2024 to January 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 5, unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2015 to January 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 6, average unemployment rates for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), January 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 7, Ontario’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2015 to January 2025, 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 January 2025, 2Kb

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