°ÄÃÅÓÀÀû

Quick facts

In February 2025:

• There were 13.6 million people in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû aged 15 years or older
  • 8.9 million (65.3%) were in the labour force. The labour force decreased by 4,300 (0.0%) in February compared to January.
  • 8.3 million (60.5%) were employed, up by 16,900 (0.2%) from January.
• °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû's unemployment rate decreased to 7.3% in February from 7.6% in January and 653,700 people were unemployed, down by 21,100 (-3.1%) from January.

Employment little changed in February

Employment in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû was little changed in February (16,900 or 0.2%), after increasing by 39,000 (0.5%) in January. A total of 8,257,300 people were employed in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû in February.

Employment in Canada was little changed in February (1,100 or 0.0%), after increasing by 76,000 (0.4%) in January. A total of 20,994,500 people were employed in Canada in February.

Chart 1 shows employment in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû from January 2016 to February 2025.

Full-time vs. part-time

Full-time employment decreased by 41,200 (-0.6%) in February, while part-time employment increased by 58,100 (4.0%).

Employment change by sex and age

Employment for men increased by 4,300 (0.1%) in February, after increasing by 14,400 (0.3%) in January. Total male employment was 4,375,100 in February. Employment for women increased by 12,600 (0.3%) in February, after increasing by 24,600 (0.6%) in January. Total female employment was 3,882,200 in February.

Youth (aged 15 to 24) employment increased by 16,900 (1.6%) in February for a total of 1,068,300, after increasing by 18,900 (1.8%) in January. Employment for people aged 25 to 54 increased by 13,300 (0.2%) in February to 5,449,600, after increasing by 21,700 (0.4%) in January. Employment for those aged 55 and older decreased by 13,300 (-0.8%) in February to 1,739,400, after decreasing by 1,700 (-0.1%) in January.

Employment change by industry

°ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s largest industry groups by employment in February were wholesale and retail trade (1,140,000 or 13.8% of total employment), health care and social assistance (1,027,400 or 12.4%), professional, scientific and technical services (892,000 or 10.8%) and manufacturing (839,600 or 10.2%).

Wholesale and retail trade (23,000 or 2.1%), finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (10,800 or 1.5%) and manufacturing (10,800 or 1.3%) led job gains in February.

Notable employment losses occurred in professional, scientific and technical services (-24,100 or -2.6%), transportation and warehousing (-10,300 or -2.5%) and utilities (-5,000 or -7.8%) in February.

Chart 2 shows industries by employment change in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû, January 2025 to February 2025.

Employment change by occupation

°ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s largest occupational groups by employment in February were sales and service (1,696,700 or 20.7% of total employment), business, finance and administration (1,349,400 or 16.5%), trades, transport and equipment operators (1,060,400 or 13.0%) and occupations in education, law and social, community and government services (962,800 or 11.8%).

Six of the ten major occupational groups in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû had net employment gains in the first two months of 2025 when compared to the same period in 2024. Health occupations (81,200 or 14.3%) led job gains, followed by occupations in art, culture, recreation and sport (52,700 or 23.8%) and sales and service occupations (46,000 or 2.9%).

Notable employment losses were recorded in trades, transport and equipment operators (-28,000 or -2.6%), management occupations (-21,300 or -2.3%) and occupations in manufacturing and utilities (-10,800 or -2.8%).

Chart 3 shows occupations by annual employment change in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû, February 2024 to February 2025.

Employment change in urban centres

In February 2025, employment in eleven of the sixteen °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) was above their February 2024 level, led by Toronto (112,400 or 3.1%) and followed by Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge (22,100 or 6.0%), Windsor (15,900 or 7.0%) and Ottawa-Gatineau (11,900 or 1.3%).

Notable employment losses in February were recorded in Belleville - Quinte West (-13,700 or -32.9%), Hamilton (-11,000 or -2.6%) and Guelph (-7,100 or -6.6%).

Chart 4 shows employment change for °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from February 2024 to February 2025.

Unemployment rate decreased to 7.3%

°ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s unemployment rate decreased to 7.3% in February from 7.6% in January. The provincial unemployment rate has increased significantly since falling to a near-record low in April 2023 (5.0%).

The Canadian unemployment rate remained at 6.6% in February. The national unemployment rate has increased significantly since March 2023 (5.0%).

Chart 5 shows unemployment rates, °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû and Canada, January 2016 to February 2025.

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

The unemployment rate for women decreased to 7.0% in February from 7.5% in January. The rate for men decreased to 7.6% in February from 7.7% in January.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate decreased to 15.5% in February from 17.1% in January. The unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 remained at 6.4% in February. The unemployment rate for those aged 55 and older rose to 4.8% in February from 4.6% in January.

In °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû, the unemployment rate among population groups designated as visible minorities was estimated at 9.5% in February compared to a 5.8% 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 February compared to a 6.5% rate for the Canadian-born population in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû. The unemployment rate for landed immigrants includes the rates for very recent immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed less than 5 years earlier) (9.8%), recent immigrants (i.e., immigrants who landed more than 5 to 10 years earlier) (9.7%) 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 °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû, the unemployment rate for the Indigenous population was estimated at 11.4% in February compared to a 7.4% 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 (8.2%) (data are three-month moving averages and are not adjusted for seasonality).

Unemployment rate by urban centre

In February, the average unemployment rate decreased from January in nine of the sixteen °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs). The largest decreases were seen in Belleville – Quinte West (8.3% in January to 7.6% in February), Guelph (7.8% to 7.1%), and London (7.0% to 6.6%).

Six CMAs had average unemployment rates that increased in February, led by Peterborough (6.1% in January to 7.5% in February), Windsor (9.1% to 9.4%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (8.0% to 8.3%) and Brantford (5.0% to 5.3%).

The average unemployment rate was unchanged in Oshawa (8.2%) in February.

Chart 6 shows the average unemployment rate for °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in February 2025.

Long-term unemployment

In February, an estimated 180,900 Ontarians or 27.7% of all unemployed people were unemployed for 27 weeks or longer (long-term unemployed). This compared to 180,500 Ontarians or 26.7% of all unemployed people in January and 119,000 or 21.0% of all unemployed people a year earlier in February 2024.

The average time in unemployment was 23.4 weeks in February, below the average in January (24.9 weeks) but well above the average in February 2024 (20.5 weeks).

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

Average hourly wages by sex, age and industry

The average hourly wage rate in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû for employees was $37.39 in February, above the average rate across Canada ($36.14). °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s average hourly wage rate in February rose by 3.9% on a year-over-year basis (by $1.42 from $35.97 in February 2024) which was below the 3.3% increase from January.

February’s wage growth (3.9%) was above the growth seen in the °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of January (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 °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s average hourly wage rate and the °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Consumer Price Index (CPI), January 2016 to February 2025.

The average hourly wage rate was $34.83 for women in February, rising by 4.0% ($1.33) from $33.50 in February 2024. For men, the average hourly wage rate was $39.85, an increase of 3.8% ($1.45) from $38.40 a year earlier.

For youth aged 15 to 24, the average hourly wage rate was $21.80 in February, an increase of 4.4% ($0.91) from $20.89 in February 2024. The average hourly wage rate for individuals aged 25 to 54 rose to $39.88 in February, up 4.1% ($1.57) from $38.31 a year earlier. The average hourly wage rate for those aged 55 and older increased by 4.6% ($1.77) to $39.97 in February from $38.20 a year earlier.

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

1. Information, culture and recreation: +15.4% ($4.99) to $37.40
2. Agriculture: +12.6% ($3.04) to $27.25
3. Utilities: +9.4% ($5.00) to $58.17

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

1. Wholesale and retail trade: -1.7% (-$0.48) to $27.78
2. Manufacturing: -0.0% (-$0.01) to $34.75

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

February 2025 Labour Market Report:

• CSV, Chart 1, employment in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû from January 2016 to February 2025, 1Kb
• CSV, Chart 2, industries with highest and lowest employment change in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû, January 2025 to February 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 3, employment change for occupations in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû from February 2024 to February 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 4, employment change for °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) from February 2024 to February 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 5, unemployment rates, °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû and Canada, January 2016 to February 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 6, average unemployment rates for °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs), February 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 7, °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s long-term unemployed (27 weeks or more) as a percentage of total unemployment, January 2016 to February 2025, 2Kb
• CSV, Chart 8, year-over-year percentage change in °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû’s average hourly wage rate and the °ÄÃÅÓÀÀû Consumer Price Index (CPI), January 2016 to February 2025, 2Kb

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