Barrie's unemployment rate increased by 0.7 per cent between August and September, the most of any other municipality in StatCan's September jobs report.
From month to month, unemployment in the city rose from 7 per cent to 7.7 per cent along with the employment level, which dropped by nearly 2,000 workers.
The next largest rise in unemployment rate province-wide was shared by three other cities (0.3 per cent), while Belleville-Quinte West's 0.9 per cent drop was the biggest drop in Ontario..
StatCan says that the biggest demographics that saw losses included young students due to a difficult summer student job market in 2025. Unemployment for ages 15 to 24 rose 1.3 per cent to 17.8 per cent in the province.
September also marks four consecutive months of little change in the unemployment rate of those 55 years and older, which rose to 5.5 per cent nationally.
Provincially, the unemployment rate rose from 7.7 per cent to 7.9 per cent. The hardest hit industry was public administration, which experienced an 1.5 per cent drop in employment, equivalent to around 7,100 workers. There was also a 2.5 per cent drop in overall part-time work, amounting to a decrease of over 36,000 workers.
Growth highlights in Ontario include a 0.7 per cent rise in full-time employment, while agriculture was had the largest monthly increase in employment of any provincial sector (8.9 per cent.)
Nationally, the unemployment rate held steady at 7.1 per cent last month. StatCan said 106,000 full-time positions were added in September.
The September jobs report will mark the Bank of Canada’s last look at the labour market before its next interest rate decision on Oct. 29. Its last decision resulted in a quarter-point cut to 2.5 per cent.
BARRIE EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS
| August 2025 | September 2025 | August to September 2025 | September 2024 to September 2025 | August to September 2025 | September 2024 to September 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 209.8 | 209.8 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 0.0 | 1.6 |
| Labour force | 138.4 | 137.4 | -1.0 | -2.5 | -0.7 | -1.8 |
| Employment | 128.7 | 126.8 | -1.9 | -4.9 | -1.5 | -3.7 |
| Unemployment | 9.7 | 10.6 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 9.3 | 29.3 |
| Participation rate | 66.0 | 65.5 | -0.5 | -2.3 | -- | -- |
| Unemployment rate | 7.0 | 7.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | -- | -- |
| Employment rate | 61.3 | 60.4 | -0.9 | -3.4 | -- | -- |
| thousands (except rates) | thousands (except rates) | change in thousands (except rates) | change in thousands (except rates) | % change | % change |
