Ontario

Modest employment growth in Ontario, despite weakness in manufacturing

• Ontario saw a modest increase of 81,000 jobs (+1.3%) in 2005. In spite of this, the employment rate fell to 63.5%. Ontario continues to be one of the main economic engines in Canada, providing employment for 39.6% of the 16.2 million people working in Canada.
• Educational services produced the largest gains in employment in Ontario in 2005, adding 38,000 jobs. A strong housing market also fuelled a gain of 27,000 construction jobs. However, there was a drop of 36,000 jobs in Ontario’s manufacturing. Losses were particularly strong in furniture, textile, primary metal and machine manufacturing. However, job losses in Ontario’s manufacturing industry were far more profound in the recession of the early 1990s, particularly in 1991 when it shed nearly 89,000 jobs from the previous year.
• The unemployment rate dropped 0.2 percentage points in Ontario from 6.8% in 2004 to 6.6% in 2005. The participation rate fell in the province for the second consecutive year in 2005, resting at 68.0%.

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