Labour market report, March 2025

Quick facts

In March 2025:

• There were 13.7 million people in Ontario aged 15 years or older
  • 8.9 million (65.1%) were in the labour force. The labour force decreased by 14,000 (-0.2%) in March compared to February.
  • 8.2 million (60.2%) were employed, down by 27,500 (-0.3%) from February.
• Ontario's unemployment rate increased to 7.5% in March from 7.3% in February and 667,200 people were unemployed, up by 13,500 (2.1%) from February.

Employment decreased in March

Employment in Ontario decreased by 27,500 (-0.3%) in March, after little change in February (16,900 or 0.2%). A total of 8,229,800 people were employed in Ontario in March.

Employment in Canada decreased by 32,600 (-0.2%) in March, after little change in February (1,100 or 0.0%). A total of 20,961,900 people were employed in Canada in March.

Chart 1 shows employment in Ontario from January 2016 to March 2025.

Full-time vs. part-time

Full-time employment decreased by 31,700 (-0.5%) in March, while part-time employment increased by 4,200 (0.3%).

Employment change by sex and age

Employment for men decreased by 24,900 (-0.6%) in March, after increasing by 4,300 (0.1%) in February. Total male employment was 4,350,200 in March. Employment for women decreased by 2,600 (-0.1%) in March, after increasing by 12,600 (0.3%) in February. Total female employment was 3,879,600 in March.

Youth (aged 15 to 24) employment decreased by 2,800 (-0.3%) in March for a total of 1,065,500, after increasing by 16,900 (1.6%) in February. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 increased by 12,400 (0.2%) in March to 5,462,000, after increasing by 13,300 (0.2%) in February. Employment for those aged 55 and older decreased by 37,100 (-2.1%) in March to 1,702,300, after decreasing by 13,300 (-0.8%) in February.

Employment change by industry

Ontario’s largest industry groups by employment in March were wholesale and retail trade (1,143,400 or 13.9% of total employment), health care and social assistance (1,018,900 or 12.4%), professional, scientific and technical services (895,700 or 10.9%) and manufacturing (842,400 or 10.2%).

Information, culture and recreation (-22,500 or -6.2%), business, building and other support services (-12,700 or -4.2%) and health care and social assistance (-8,500 or -0.8%) led job losses in March.

Notable job gains included other services (except public administration) (12,800 or 4.6%), utilities (7,200 or 12.2%) and accommodation and food services (6,500 or 1.5%).

Chart 2 shows industries by employment change in Ontario, February 2025 to March 2025.

Employment change by occupation

Ontario’s largest occupational groups by employment in March were sales and service (1,711,300 or 21.0% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,348,100 or 16.6%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,073,100 or 13.2%) and occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (954,400 or 11.7%).

Six of the ten major occupational groups in Ontario had net employment gains in the first three months of 2025 when compared to the same period in 2024. Health occupations (79,200 or 13.8%) led job gains, followed by sales and service occupations (57,700 or 3.6%) and occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (50,300 or 22.4%).

Notable employment losses were recorded in trades, transport and equipment operators (-28,900 or -2.6%), management occupations (-28,600 or -3.1%) and occupations in manufacturing and utilities (-14,100 or -3.7%).

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

Employment change in urban centres

In March 2025, employment in eleven of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was above their March 2024 level, led by Toronto (110,700 or 3.0%) and followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (17,600 or 2.0%), St. Catharines-Niagara (16,600 or 7.3%) and Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (15,600 or 4.2%).

Notable employment losses in March were recorded in Hamilton (-10,900 or -2.5%), Belleville-Quinte West (-10,500 or -24.9%) and Guelph (-7,500 or -6.9%).

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

Unemployment rate increased to 7.5%

Ontario’s unemployment rate increased to 7.5% in March from 7.3% in February. The provincial unemployment rate has increased significantly since falling to a near-record low in April 2023 (5.0%).

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

Chart 5 shows unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2016 to March 2025.

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

The unemployment rate for women increased to 7.1% in March from 7.0% in February. The rate for men increased to 7.9% in March from 7.6% in February.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate increased to 16.4% in March from 15.5% in February. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 decreased to 6.3% in March from 6.4% in February. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older rose to 4.9% in March from 4.8% in February.

In Ontario, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 9.8% in March compared to a 6.1% 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 8.0% in March compared to a 6.8% 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 less than 5 years earlier) (10.5%), recent immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed more than 5 to 10 years earlier) (10.4%) and established immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed more than 10 years earlier) (6.7%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

In Ontario, the unemployment rate for the Indigenous population was estimated at 10.8% in March compared to a 7.7% rate for the non-Indigenous population. The unemployment rate for the Indigenous population includes the rates for First Nations people living off reserve (12.7%) and individuals who identify as Métis (8.5%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

Unemployment rate by urban centre

In March, the average unemployment rate decreased from February in nine of the sixteen Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest decreases were seen in Belleville-Quinte West (7.6% in February to 5.6% in March), Thunder Bay (4.9% to 4.1%), Guelph (7.1% to 6.4%) and London (6.6% to 5.9%).

Six CMAs had average unemployment rates that increased in March, led by Peterborough (7.5% in February to 9.1% in March), Barrie (5.6% to 7.1%), Brantford (5.3% to 6.1%) and St. Catharines-Niagara (6.0% to 6.5%).

The average unemployment rate was unchanged in Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (8.3%) in March.

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

Long-term unemployment

In March, an estimated 173,100 Ontarians or 25.9% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 180,900 Ontarians or 27.7% of all unemployed people in February and 121,300 or 20.7% of all unemployed people a year earlier in March 2024.

The average time in unemployment was 22.8 weeks in March, below the average in February (23.4 weeks) but well above the average in March 2024 (19.3 weeks).

Chart 7 shows Ontario’s long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2016 to March 2025.

Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

The average hourly wage rate in Ontario for employees was $37.28 in March, above the average rate across Canada ($36.05). Ontario’s average hourly wage rate in March rose by 4.1% on a year-over-year basis (by $1.47 from $35.81 in March 2024) which was above the 3.9% increase from February.

March’s wage growth (4.1%) was above the growth seen in the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of February (2.7%). 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 2016 to March 2025.

The average hourly wage rate was $34.56 for women in March, rising by 3.7% ($1.23) from $33.33 in March 2024. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $39.90, an increase of 4.3% ($1.65) from $38.25 a year earlier.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $21.80 in March, an increase of 4.5% ($0.93) from $20.87 in March 2024. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $39.84 in March, up 4.0% ($1.52) from $38.32 a year earlier. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by 6.0% ($2.23) to $39.53 in March from $37.30 a year earlier.

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

1. Information, culture and recreation: +21.7% ($6.96) to $38.97
2. Agriculture: +21.2% ($4.80) to $27.41
3. Utilities: +17.2% ($9.13) to $62.11

Only two industries experienced a decrease in their average hourly wage rate in March compared to a year earlier:

1. Wholesale and retail trade: -1.0% (-$0.27) to $27.53
2. Manufacturing: -0.9% (-$0.32) to $34.33

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

March 2025 Labour Market Report:

• CSV, Chart 1, employment in Ontario from January 2016 to March 2025, 1Kb
• CSV, Chart 2, industries with highest and lowest employment change in Ontario, February 2025 to March 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 3, employment change for occupations in Ontario from March 2024 to March 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 4, employment change for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from March 2024 to March 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 5, unemployment rates, Ontario and Canada, January 2016 to March 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 6, average unemployment rates for Ontario Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), March 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 7, Ontario’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2016 to March 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 2016 to March 2025, 2Kb

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