Employment Gains and Losses
According to Statistics Canada’s The Daily, Canada’s employment fell by approximately 33,000 jobs. The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) has examined the employment gains and losses by the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).
The following table shows the employment by thousands in Oshawa CMA from November 2024 to March 2025.
Chart One: Employment characteristics, Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area
| Employment: Persons in Thousands | Nov-24 | Dec-24 | Jan-25 | Feb-25 | Mar-25 |
| Goods-producing sector | 44 | 44.7 | 45.1 | 44.9 | 44.2 |
| Utilities | 5.2 | 6 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 6 |
| Construction | 19.3 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23.1 |
| Manufacturing | 18.6 | 18.1 | 17.3 | 15.7 | 14.3 |
| Services-producing sector | 195.7 | 195 | 198.4 | 201.8 | 203.1 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 41 | 41 | 39.6 | 37.7 | 36.7 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.7 | 11 | 10.9 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | 20.8 | 20.9 | 22.2 | 24.9 | 26.6 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 22.8 | 24.9 | 27.8 | 28.2 | 28.3 |
| Educational services | 22 | 21.7 | 22.1 | 23.7 | 23.7 |
| Health care and social assistance | 29.9 | 28.2 | 27.2 | 26.2 | 25.9 |
| Information, culture and recreation | 11.2 | 11 | 11.6 | 12.2 | 12 |
| Accommodation and food services | 8.9 | 11.1 | 13 | 15 | 15.1 |
| Public administration | 11.2 | 10.2 | 9.8 | 10.1 | 10.6 |
Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0467-01
Employment Gains
The sectors highlighted in blue show an increase in employment. The Services-producing sector added about 7400 jobs since November 2024. Similar gains were in the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector and the Professional Scientific and Technical Services Sector.
Employment Losses
The sectors highlighted in yellow indicate a decrease in employment. Manufacturing, Wholesale Trade, Healthcare, Accommodation, and Food Services saw the most significant decreases.
Chart Two: Month-over-Month Gains and Losses
| Employment: Persons in Thousands | Feb-25 | Mar-25 | Change |
| Utilities | 6.6 | 6 | -600 |
| Construction | 22 | 23.1 | +1100 |
| Manufacturing | 15.7 | 14.3 | -1400 |
| Services-producing sector | 201.8 | 203.1 | +1300 |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 37.7 | 36.7 | -1000 |
| Transportation and warehousing | 11 | 10.9 | -100 |
| Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing | 24.9 | 26.6 | +1700 |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 28.2 | 28.3 | +100 |
| Educational services | 23.7 | 23.7 | 0 |
| Health care and social assistance | 26.2 | 25.9 | -300 |
| Information, culture and recreation | 12.2 | 12 | -200 |
| Accommodation and food services | 15 | 15.1 | +100 |
| Public administration | 10.1 | 10.6 | +500 |
Chart Three: Total Gains and Losses
| Total sector employment | |
| Gains | Loss |
| 4800 | 3600 |
Oshawa had a gain of approximately 1200 jobs month over month. Most jobs were in the Service or Finance sectors. The DWA will track this as the tariffs begin to impact the labour market.
Jobs First Durham Data
Recent data from Jobs First Durham highlights a concerning trend in the local labour market. Between November 2024 and March 2025, the number of active job postings declined by 33%, while the number of companies hiring fell by 27%. This reinforces the broader employment downturn reflected in Statistics Canada’s data, suggesting that businesses in the region are scaling back their hiring efforts.
Additionally, during this same period, both the average and median posted wages experienced declines of 4% and 3%, respectively, indicating potential wage stagnation or increased competition for fewer available positions. These shifts underscore the challenges facing job seekers and employers in Durham’s evolving job market.
About the DWA:
The Durham Workforce Authority (DWA) is a community-based not-for-profit. We work hard to meet the voices of the sectors, ensure good stewardship of public funds and provide reliable research focused on local labour market information (LMI).
The DWA collaborates with community stakeholders from business, labour, education and training, community services, and municipal, provincial, and federal governments.
The DWA hosts a free tool, Jobs First Durham community job board, that aggregates postings from over 50 unique websites to help job seekers and employers.
Jobs First Durham offers career development tools, including a job board, career calculator, career library, and resume and cover letter builders. Jobs First Durham provides reports and analytics, including labour market insights and labour force and skill demand reports.
The DWA provides just-in-time custom labour market information and often conducts custom fee-for-service research. If you are interested in local data, please don’t hesitate to contact the DWA.
The Province of Ontario partially funds the DWA to supply Labour Market Information (LMI) to the Region of Durham.
Written by: Heather McMillan, Executive Director, Durham Workforce Authority
Heather’s expertise is developing strong local community labour markets and conducting industry research supported by innovative projects. Heather is a Toronto Sector Skills Academy Metcalf Fellow and was recently awarded her Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) certification from the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals.