Ontario Economic Update
Access the April 26, 2024 update of the economy in the Ontario Economic Update, a weekly snapshot of the economy.
Economy
| Item | Monthly: 2023 Dec | Monthly: 2024 Jan | Monthly: 2024 Feb | Monthly: 2024 Mar | Quarterly: 2023 Q3 | Quarterly: 2023 Q4 | Quarterly: 2024 Q1 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2022 | Annual: 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Gross Domestic Product ($2017 millions) | – | – | – | – | 921,066 | 921,173 | N/A | 920,218 | 909,121 | 920,218 |
| Real Gross Domestic Product (% change) | – | – | – | – | 0.1 | 0.0 | N/A | 1.2 | 3.9 | 1.2 |
| Current Dollar Gross Domestic Product ($ millions) | – | – | – | – | 1,100,632 | 1,114,805 | N/A | 1,093,659 | 1,048,259 | 1,093,659 |
| Current Dollar Gross Domestic Product (% change) | – | – | – | – | 1.2 | 1.3 | N/A | 4.3 | 9.2 | 4.3 |
Employment
| Item | Monthly: 2023 Dec | Monthly: 2024 Jan | Monthly: 2024 Feb | Monthly: 2024 Mar | Quarterly: 2023 Q3 | Quarterly: 2023 Q4 | Quarterly: 2024 Q1 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2022 | Annual: 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment (000's) | 7,914 | 7,938 | 7,944 | 7,971 | 7,945 | 7,938 | 7,951 | 7,871 | 7,732 | 7,915 |
| Net New Jobs (000's) | -37.0 | 23.8 | 6.7 | 26.1 | 28.8 | -6.9 | 12.9 | 89.6 | 338.3 | 183.2 |
| Net New Jobs (% change) | -0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.4 | -0.1 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 4.6 | 2.4 |
| Unemployment Rate (per cent) | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 6.6 | 5.6 | 5.7 |
| Average Weekly Wage Rate, nsa ($) | 1,313 | 1,324 | 1,319 | 1,312 | 1,288 | 1,306 | 1,318 | 1,318 | 1,216 | 1,278 |
| Average Weekly Wage Rate, nsa (% change) | 6.4 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 4.7 | 5.1 |
| Employment Insurance Beneficiaries (regular) | 142,640 | 143,380 | 144,810 | N/A | 125,907 | 137,060 | N/A | 176,580 | 138,917 | 124,498 |
| Employment Insurance Beneficiaries (regular) (% change) | 4.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | N/A | 5.1 | 8.9 | N/A | 23.7 | -70.6 | -10.4 |
Consumers
| Item | Monthly: 2023 Dec | Monthly: 2024 Jan | Monthly: 2024 Feb | Monthly: 2024 Mar | Quarterly: 2023 Q3 | Quarterly: 2023 Q4 | Quarterly: 2024 Q1 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2022 | Annual: 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales ($ millions) | 25,304 | 25,332 | 25,272 | N/A | 74,296 | 75,204 | N/A | 42,454 | 295,392 | 297,337 |
| Retail Sales (% change) | 1.1 | 0.1 | -0.2 | N/A | 0.4 | 1.2 | N/A | 5.0 | 10.9 | 0.7 |
| New Motor Vehicle Sales, nsa (units) | 52,057 | 45,493 | 59,271 | N/A | 192,710 | 170,134 | N/A | 104,764 | 634,915 | 719,569 |
| New Motor Vehicle Sales, nsa (% change) | 12.4 | 9.8 | 34.7 | N/A | 16.1 | 11.2 | N/A | 22.6 | -5.9 | 13.3 |
| Consumer Price Index (CPI), nsa | 160.0 | 159.9 | 160.2 | 161.4 | 159.7 | 160.3 | 160.5 | 160.5 | 152.9 | 158.7 |
| Consumer Price Index (CPI), nsa (% change) | 3.4 | 2.7 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 6.8 | 3.8 |
Housing
| Item | Monthly: 2023 Dec | Monthly: 2024 Jan | Monthly: 2024 Feb | Monthly: 2024 Mar | Quarterly: 2023 Q3 | Quarterly: 2023 Q4 | Quarterly: 2024 Q1 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2022 | Annual: 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Housing Starts (000's) | 70.8 | 80.9 | 87.4 | 72.4 | 93.7 | 80.8 | 80.7 | 17.7 | 96.1 | 89.3 |
| Housing Starts (% change) | 10.0 | 14.2 | 8.1 | -17.2 | -7.7 | -13.8 | -0.1 | 0.7 | -3.5 | -7.1 |
| MLS Home Resales (units) | 14,020 | 15,086 | 14,070 | 13,844 | 40,696 | 38,268 | 43,000 | 37,571 | 185,748 | 162,784 |
| MLS Home Resales (% change) | 15.1 | 7.6 | -6.7 | -1.6 | -10.0 | -6.0 | 12.4 | 7.9 | -32.1 | -12.4 |
Business
| Item | Monthly: 2023 Dec | Monthly: 2024 Jan | Monthly: 2024 Feb | Monthly: 2024 Mar | Quarterly: 2023 Q3 | Quarterly: 2023 Q4 | Quarterly: 2024 Q1 | Year to Date* | Annual: 2022 | Annual: 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing Sales ($ millions) | 30,983 | 31,884 | 31,642 | N/A | 98,602 | 94,244 | N/A | 60,184 | 367,525 | 387,387 |
| Manufacturing Sales (% change) | -3.1 | 2.9 | -0.8 | N/A | -0.5 | -4.4 | N/A | 2.0 | 18.0 | 5.4 |
| International Merchandise Exports, nsa ($ millions) | 19,108 | 19,587 | 21,727 | N/A | 62,205 | 61,960 | N/A | 41,314 | 226,156 | 251,422 |
| International Merchandise Exports, nsa (% change) | -1.0 | -4.3 | 16.2 | N/A | 9.3 | 7.6 | N/A | 5.5 | 14.7 | 11.2 |
| International Merchandise Imports, nsa ($ millions) | 36,483 | 33,350 | 35,700 | N/A | 116,076 | 115,925 | N/A | 69,050 | 443,603 | 458,094 |
| International Merchandise Imports, nsa (% change) | 2.7 | -4.4 | 3.0 | N/A | 0.8 | 2.1 | N/A | -0.7 | 18.3 | 3.3 |
| Wholesale Trade ($ millions) | 45,219 | 44,766 | 44,557 | N/A | 140,710 | 136,498 | N/A | 83,048 | 490,514 | 545,801 |
| Wholesale Trade (% change) | -1.1 | -1.0 | -0.5 | N/A | 1.8 | -3.0 | N/A | 7.5 | 10.8 | 11.3 |
| Non-residential Building Permits ($ millions) | 1,755 | 1,649 | 2,188 | N/A | 5,855 | 5,175 | N/A | 3,382 | 18,823 | 21,763 |
| Non-residential Building Permits (% change) | 21.5 | -6.0 | 32.7 | N/A | 13.1 | -11.6 | N/A | 20.0 | 17.7 | 15.6 |
| Private and Public Investment ($ millions) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 94,555 | 102,623 |
| Private and Public Investment (% change) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 5.1 | 8.5 |
Notes
All monthly and quarterly data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise specified with "nsa". Year to Date data is nsa. Per cent change for 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: April 29, 2024
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 seasonally 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.