Ontario

Despite weakness in manufacturing, employment increases in Ontario

• Ontario saw an increase of 160,000 jobs in 2003, reflecting healthy employment growth (+2.6%) from 2002. As a result of this, the employment rate rose to 63.7%—its highest point since 1990. Despite the increase, the employment rate in 2003 was still 2.7 points below the 1989 peak, and the gap between Ontario and the national average remained narrower than in the past. Regardless, the employment rate in Ontario has remained consistently above the national average over the past three decades.
• Even though growth of gross domestic product was slow in Ontario, a strong housing market fuelled a gain of 32,000 construction jobs and spin-off jobs in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (+35,000) from 2002 to 2003. There was also a strong gain in the health care and social assistance sector (+43,000). However, there was a drop of 28,000 jobs in Ontario's manufacturing sector, mostly in metal, computer and electronic products, and motor vehicle parts manufacturing.
• The unemployment rate was little changed in Ontario from 2002 (7.1%) to 2003 (7.0%). In 2003, the province's unemployment rate remained below the national average (7.6%), as it has for the past three decades. An increasing number of employed in the province in 2003 contributed to the rise in the participation rate to 68.4%, its highest point in more than a decade.

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