August 12, 2025
SUMMARY
Employment and labour force in the Ontario construction sector increased year-over-year (y/y) by 2.4% and 2.7%, respectively. The unemployment rate lowered to 4.4%, similar to this time last year (4.2%).
EMPLOYMENT
From June to July, Ontario’s construction employment fell from 607.5K to 603.5K (nationally construction was down 22K between these two months). Despite the decrease, year-over-year trends were solid, with employment increasing 2.4% y/y (outperforming the national reading which showed little change) and similar upward movement in the labour force at 2.7% y/y.The unemployment rate dropped from the 6% in June to 4.4% in July (close to the 4.2% in July 2024). This rate was much lower than the Ontario overall unemployment rate, which came in at a staggering 8.4%.
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DEMOGRAPHICS
Men’s employment was up by 1.2% y/y, and labour force was up by 1.8% y/y. The only age group to see an increase, however, was the 25-54 age group with a 3.7% y/y increase in employment (347.6K to 360.6K) and 4.1% for the labour force (360.9K to 375.6K).
Women’s employment and labour force numbers increased by 9.8% y/y and 8.0% y/y, respectively. Similar to men’s employment, this was driven by the 25–54 age group. Women aged 25-54 saw a 9.7% y/y increase in employment (55.7K to 61.1K), and 10.6% y/y in its labour force (57.3K to 63.4K). Another bright spot was employment gains for the cohort of women aged 15-24, which almost doubled, from 6.5K to 13.2K (103% increase).
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ali Ahmad
Research Analyst
Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210 ext. 222
aahmad@iciconstruction.com
