Census Metropolitan Unemployment Rates Across Ontario
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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 reflects many of the job losses and recoveries experienced across various areas in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, largely due to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. While all areas saw a spike in unemployment around March, we saw a gradual decline throughout the summer and into the autumn months as various businesses began to re-open after the first wave of the virus. While Windsor CMA had a major spike through the spring, the rate has gradually fallen in line with the other CMAs, now sitting at 9.7%. Peterborough, Barrie, Toronto and Windsor all fall fairly close together as of November between 9.7% and 10.7%.
In Ontario, the highest unemployment rate in November 2020 was 10.7% in the Peterborough CMA. The lowest unemployment rate on the chart is 7.6% in both London and Hamilton CMAs. Oshawa CMA sits at 7.8%. Looking forward, the data should begin to reflect some of the effects of the pandemic’s second wave on unemployment across Ontario in the coming months.