Census Metropolitan Unemployment Rates Across Ontario
The Unemployment Rate Comparison Graph provides a visual display of the monthly unemployment rates for various Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA) across Ontario. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons expressed as a percentage of the labour force. Estimates are percentages, rounded to the nearest tenth.
The Oshawa CMA is comprised of Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington. The Oshawa CMA is used as a data proxy in Durham Region as Pickering, Ajax and Uxbridge are part of the Toronto CMA and Brock and Scugog are not surveyed in the monthly report due to population size. The Oshawa CMA includes the most Durham Region residents and provides the best depiction of the labour market in the Region as a whole.
The Unemployment Rate Comparison Graph demonstrates the significant changes labour markets across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) and Ontario have undergone since the beginning of 2020 largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Barrie CMA and Windsor CMA saw their presumed peak unemployment related to Covid-19 in May, while the other CMAs listed have seen unemployment rates continue to rise, albeit at various rates, in June.
In Ontario, the highest unemployment rate in June 2020 was 15.2% in both Guelph and Windsor CMAs, and the lowest unemployment rate was 9.4% in Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario part). With the exception of Ottawa-Gatineau (Ontario part) all other CMAs in Ontario saw unemployment rates of at least 10.1%. By comparison, in January 2020 all Ontario CMAs had unemployment rates of less than 7.9%.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused drastic changes in the labour markets of both Ontario and Durham Region. It will be important to continue monitoring the unemployment rate to evaluate the success of policies and practices implemented to help the economy return to a state of relative normalcy.