November 2025 Labour Lowdown

TWIG
13 November 2025

Current Labour Market

$41.74

Average Wage Year-over-year
+5.1%

8.6%

Unemployment Rate October
-0.7% from August

$985.41 Mil

Building Permits Year-over-year
+$195.20 Mil

3,709,900

Total Employment Year-over-year
+2,500

17.8%

Office Vacancy Rate
-0.2% Previous Quarter

29 Days

Average Length of Job Post Year-over-year
-15.4 Days

34,439

Active Job Posts
+5% from September

Toronto Employment by Sector

With a remarkably positive October LFS report (exceeding expectations), Toronto’s labour market showed early signs of stabilization, suggesting the worst of the turbulence may be behind it. Total employment stood at 3.71 million in October 2025, only modestly below midsummer levels and slightly higher than last fall. The city’s goods-producing industries, hardest hit by tariffs and slower trade are now holding steady or edging up. Concerns over construction and utilities employment rose roughly 7 percent year-over-year, supported by ongoing commercial and infrastructure projects, while manufacturing stabilized near 339,000 jobs. Transportation and warehousing employment also climbed back to its highest level in a year, another hint that supply-chain activity is normalizing. Together these indicators point to a labour market that, while still uneven, is showing resilience after a difficult stretch.

Active Job Posts and Companies Hiring Over Last Twelve Months Toronto October 2025

Private sector hiring data adds a cautiously hopeful note. JobsTO postings rose 16 percent over the year, led by strong gains in finance and insurance (+47 percent), retail (+45 percent), and manufacturing (+15 percent). These are encouraging signals of renewed employer confidence, particularly in sectors tied to consumer spending and business investment. Hiring in information and cultural industries (+19 percent) and real estate (+22 percent) also suggests companies are preparing for steadier demand ahead. Some areas remain weak notably public administration (–7 percent) and arts and entertainment (–20 percent), yet the overall pattern shows private employment gradually offsetting softness in public hiring.

Taken together, the latest data supports a surprisingly optimistic view of Toronto’s economy. The combination of stable goods production, firming private-sector recruitment, and improving logistics activity points to a city beginning to regain its economic balance. While challenges persist, especially for publicly funded and creative sectors, the steady pulse of hiring in finance, construction, and manufacturing indicates that Toronto’s job market is moving from recovery to renewal. Momentum may be fragile, but confidence is quietly returning.

Focus On: Professional, Scientific & Technical Services

Cautious Optimism as Toronto’s Knowledge Sector Regains Footing

Toronto’s professional, scientific and technical services sector, the city’s core knowledge economy, is showing early signs of recovery after a year of restraint. Employment in this group rose modestly to 528,300 in October 2025, up from 526,700 in July and higher than its level a year earlier. While growth remains measured, the trend is encouraging. After nearly a year of flat or negative movement, the sector appears to be stabilizing and adding jobs again. This is significant for Toronto, as these roles spanning IT, engineering, law, accounting, design and consulting anchor much of the city’s private sector innovation and high value employment.

Online postings from JobsTO reinforce this gradual rebound. There were nearly 2,000 active job ads in October 2025, up 16 percent year over year, marking the highest posting volume since spring. The number of firms hiring also climbed to 399, up from 344 in August, another signal that employers are cautiously expanding.

Top Hiring Firms:

  • Deloitte (240 postings)
  • KPMG Canada (73 postings)
  • Accenture (72 postings)
  • Capgemini (50 postings)
  • BDO Canada (46 postings)

These leading firms accounted for almost 500 openings in October, suggesting that demand for consulting and professional services is strengthening, particularly in digital transformation, financial advisory and organizational planning, all areas that tend to grow ahead of broader economic recovery.

Top Occupations in Demand:

  • Administrative services managers
  • Office assistants
  • Accountants and investment professionals
  • Human resources specialists
  • Policy analysts
  • Architects and planners

This pattern points to a gradual normalization of professional hiring as employers refill positions paused during earlier uncertainty. While the sector is not yet back to its pre slowdown pace, the combination of steady employment growth, stronger hiring signals and diversified demand suggests that confidence is quietly returning to Toronto’s professional and technical workforce.

 

Author

  • Toronto Workforce Innovation Group is a non-profit and independent research organization devoted to finding and promoting solutions to employment-related problems in the Toronto Region.

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November 2025 Labour Lowdown
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