Employment in Ontario improved in June, after three consecutive months of it going down. This was likely due to the extended provincial-wide stay-at-home order being lifted. Ontario also entered Stage 2 of opening on June 30th, meaning many businesses, such as restaurants, started rehiring. 

 

Here is a look at how employment in Ontario was impacted in June 2021, compiled by our hiring experts at Nova Staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government June 2021 Labour Market report. 

 

 

Employment Summary

Ontario had 7.3 million (59.2%) employed individuals in June 2021, up by 116,900 from May, which was a 1.6% increase. Employment was still below its pre-COVID-19 February 2021 levels by -2.5%.

 

Unemployment also decreased in June to 8.4%, down from 9.3% in May. In total, 668,000 people were unemployed, down 8.8% from the previous month. 

 

Employment by Age

Youth employment (15-24) continued to be the furthest from its pre-COVID levels, but it did drastically improve in June. Youth employment increased by 85,700 jobs, and unemployment dropped to 17.2% from 20.7% in May. 

 

Adult employment (25-54) also saw improvement, with a 20,000-job increase. Unemployment dropped from 7% in May down to 6.5% in June. Senior employment (55+) saw gains as well. Senior employment increased by 11,100 jobs, and unemployment went down to 8.3%. 

 

Employment by Sector

Certain industries were hit harder by COVID-19 due to government shutdowns of those deemed non-essential. Sectors that were hit the hardest and were the furthest from their pre-COVID levels in June were Accommodation and Food Services (-100.8%), Wholesale and Retail Trade (-42.3%), Business, Building, and Other Support Services (-33.3%), and Construction (-32.1%).

 

Not all sectors struggled, though. Many Ontario industries saw employment growth in June, led by Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (+70.2%), Public Administration (+22.9%), Health Care and Social Assistance (+9.7%), and Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing (+4.9%).

 

Employment by Region

Ontario saw employment gains in seven on its 16 CMAs. Regions with the most employment growth were led by Toronto (+10.4%) and followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (+6%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+0.5%), London (+0.4%), Thunder Bay (+0.3%), Barrie (+0.2%), and Greater Sudbury (+0.1%). 

 

Other regions in Ontario saw employment loss, including Hamilton (-6.6%), Belleville (-5.1%), St.Catharines-Niagara (-4.1%), Kingston (-2.4%), Oshawa (-1.8%), Brantford (-1.7%), Windsor (-1.5%), Guelph (-0.8%), Peterborough (-0.3%). 

 

Is your company looking for help hiring top talent or need staffing solutions? Contact Nova Staffing! Our team of employment experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is here to help.

 

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