According to a recent jobs report from Statistics Canada for the month of August 2023, the unemployment rate in Ontario has risen to 5.9% from 5.6%.
So the unemployment rate is now up by 1% from 4.9% in the month of April 2023 and is currently above the national average of 5.5%.
Employment in Ontario during the month of August 2023 was 7,940,000, which declined slightly (-0.1%) from 7,949,300 in July 2023.
As per Statistics Canada, the increase in Ontario’s unemployment rate is due to an increase in the size of the working-age population (15 and older) by 45,000 with little change in employment.
Unemployment rate also increased in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador in August 2023.
However, unemployment rate declined in Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Prince Edward Island in August.
Check out the below interactive chart reflecting official August 2023 survey key points.
Unemployment rate in Toronto is now highest at 6.6% among the 3 major metropolitans of Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver collectively known as MTV.
Employment rose in professional, scientific, and technical services (+52,000; +2.8%) and construction (+34,000; +2.2%), while it fell in educational services (-44,000; -2.9%) and manufacturing (-30,000; -1.6%).
In August, the number of self-employed employees increased by 50,000 (1.9%), the first significant increase in nine months.
The number of employed men and women aged 25 to 54 increased by 33,000 (+0.5%) and 21,000 (+0.3%), respectively, while the number of employed women aged 55 and older decreased by 27,000 (-1.3%). Female youth employment increased (+32,000; +2.4%), while male youth employment decreased (-29,000; -2.1%).
As per Statistics Canada, among those who were unemployed in July, 57.8% remained unemployed in August.
The increase indicates that job seekers may have had a more difficult time obtaining employment than they did a year ago.
In August, 0.4% of employees who remained employed from one month to the next but switched jobs between months comprised the job-changing rate.
This was below the 0.8% apex recorded in January 2022 and the 0.7% average observed from 2017 to 2019 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A lower rate of job-hopping may indicate that workers are settling into their positions or that the job market has become less favourable for those pursuing new opportunities.
In August 2023, 0.8% of young adults aged 15 to 24 changed jobs, compared to an average of 1.6% from 2017 to 2019.
As of August 2023, the unemployment rate in Canada is 5.5%.
According to the latest data, the province with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada is Quebec (4.3%) followed by British Columbia (5.2%) and Saskatchewan (5.4%).
Atlantic provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador 8.9%, New Brunswick 7.7%, and Prince Edward Island 7.6%) has the highest unemployment rate among Canadian provinces followed by Ontario 5.9%, Alberta (5.7%), and Manitoba (5.7%).
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