Labour Market Report 2019

Ontario’s strong 2019 labour market performance

Ontario’s labour market performed strongly in 2019, posting the largest increase in the level of employment on record. The annual unemployment rate remained at 5.6 per cent, unchanged from 2018, but the lowest rate since 1989. The strength in job creation was accompanied by sustained growth in average wages, and an increase in the proportion of Ontarians participating in the workforce for only the second time in the past 10 years.

However, Ontario’s labour market continues to face important challenges, including an uneven distribution of labour market gains across the province’s communities, a surge in self-employment which can be precarious, and a decline in average hours worked per employee, partially reflecting rising part-time employment.

Largest annual job gain on record, led by private sector

Ontario’s economy created a strong 210,000 net new jobs in 2019, the largest increase in the level of employment on record.[1] Despite the strong pace of job creation, the annual unemployment rate held steady at 5.6 per cent, as a relatively large number of people entered the labour market looking for work.

Accessible version

Employment gains in 2019 were driven by strong increases in both full-time jobs (157,000, +2.7 per cent) and part-time jobs (53,000, +4.0 per cent). Job creation was concentrated in the private sector (123,000, +2.6 per cent) and self-employment (78,000, +7.0 per cent), which recorded its largest increase in level of employment since 1997. In contrast, public sector employment rose by only 9,000 new jobs in 2019 (+0.7 per cent), reflecting ongoing provincial government spending restraint.

The service sector accounted for the bulk of Ontario’s job creation last year, with employment rising by 196,000, the largest annual gain on record. Within the service sector, job creation was particularly strong in health care and social assistance (54,000, +6.4 per cent) and professional, scientific and technical services (45,000, +7.1 per cent). The goods-producing sector created just 15,000 net new jobs last year, with gains concentrated in construction (18,000, +3.4 per cent) and agriculture (5,000, +7.2 per cent). Manufacturing jobs declined by 6,500 in 2019, marking the second consecutive year of lower employment.

Highest wage growth since 2008

Average hourly wages (for all workers) increased by a solid 3.6 per cent to $28.34 in 2019, marking the strongest wage growth since 2008. After adjusting for the impact of consumer price inflation, Ontario’s average hourly wage increased by 1.7 per cent.

Accessible version

Solid wage gains were recorded in professional, scientific, and technical services (+5.8 per cent), manufacturing (+5.7 per cent), and construction (+5.5 per cent). In contrast, workers in the broader public sector recorded more modest wage gains. For example, wages for health care and social assistance workers increased by just 0.5 per cent on average, while average education sector wages increased by 1.7 per cent.

For lower-wage workers, average wage gains moderated in 2019, after strong increases in 2018 that were boosted by the significant rise in Ontario's minimum wage. For example, young workers (ages 15-24), who are more likely to be employed in minimum wage jobs, saw an average wage gain of 6.0 per cent in 2019, following a 10.5 per cent surge in 2018. Part-time workers recorded average wage gains of 2.3 per cent in 2019, following an increase of 6.4 per cent in 2018, while accommodation and food service workers received an average wage increase of 3.0 per cent in 2019, down from 9.9 per cent in 2018.

Wages for female workers increased by 3.8 per cent in 2019, outpacing a 3.3 per cent rise for male workers, and marking the third consecutive year of a declining gender wage gap.

Accessible version

Ontario’s workforce participation rate increased in 2019

With healthy employment and wage growth, the proportion of Ontarians choosing to participate in the workforce increased to 65.1 per cent in 2019, up from 64.5 per cent in the previous year. This marked only the second increase in the overall labour force participation rate in the past 10 years. The rise in the participation rate was observed among all major age groups. For young workers (15-24 years), the participation rate increased to 61.3 per cent in 2019, up strongly from 60.2 per cent in 2018. Among core age workers (25-54 years), the participation rate increased to 86.3 per cent in 2019, up from 85.6 per cent in 2018, and the highest rate since 2013.

Accessible version

The most notable increase in the labour force participation rate was for older workers (55 years and over), with the rate reaching 38.7 per cent, the highest on record. The decision by an increasing proportion of older Ontarians to remain in the workforce longer has been an important trend in the Ontario labour market since the late 1990s. Research has indicated that this trend reflects several factors including the rising educational attainment of older workers, the shift of employment towards less physically demanding jobs in the service sector, economic circumstances and improvements in health outcomes.[2]

Despite the improvements, Ontario still trails most other provinces in labour force participation rates, including core-age workers. In 2019, the labour force participation rate for core-age Ontario women increased to 82.1 per cent from 81.5 per cent in the previous year but was third lowest among the provinces. In sharp contrast, the participation rate of core-age Quebec women was 86.9 per cent in 2019, about five percentage points higher than in Ontario.[3]

Accessible version

The participation rate of core-age Ontario men was 90.6 per cent in 2019, up from 89.7 per cent in 2018. However, Ontario’s core-age male participation rate was fifth lowest among the provinces.