Educational Services (NAICS 61): Ontario 2024-2026
HIGHLIGHTS
- There were 565,400 people employed in the educational services sector in Ontario, comprising 7.1% of Ontario‘s total workforce in 2023.
- Employment in Ontario‘s education sector increased by 0.8% in 2023.
- Funding and labour issues in the education sector, along with a cap on international student admissions and a freeze on domestic tuition fees, will continue to impact the outlook in this industry.
ABOUT THE SECTOR
Composition and importance of the sector
The educational services sector is comprised of four key sub-industries: elementary and secondary schools; universities; community colleges and C.E.G.E.P.s; and other schools.
In Ontario, this sector employed 565,400 people in 2023. This made up 7.1% of the province‘s total workforce and these workers accounted for over one-third (38.0%) of employment in the educational services sector across the country.
The sector in Ontario produced over $49.4 billion in GDP in 2023, contributing 5.7% to the province‘s total GDP.
Graph 1. Employment Share by Subsector
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
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Geographical distribution of employment
As of 2023, across the province, the economic region (ER) with the highest proportion of Ontario‘s workers in the educational services sector was the Toronto ER, with 46.2% of employment. This is due to the high population density in the ER, as well as the area being home to a number of post-secondary institutions.
Workers in the sector were over-represented in several ERs, including Kingston-Pembroke ER, where 9.3% of total employment was in educational services, 8.7% for Northwest ER and 8.2% for Northeast ER. In comparison, this industry made up 7.1% of overall employment in the province.
Table 1. Employment by Economic Region
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
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WORKFORCE
Workforce characteristics
- Women accounted for more than two-thirds (66.7%) of Ontario‘s educational services workforce in 2023, compared to 47.4% for all industries.
- Only 6.1% of workers in this industry were self-employed in Ontario in 2023, compared to 13.6% for all industries.
- More than one-fifth (23.2%) of employees in the sector in Ontario worked part-time in 2023, compared to 17.3% of the overall workforce in the province.
- The industry also had a greater share working in temporary roles (22.7%) in 2023, compared to Ontario as a whole (9.7%).
- In 2023, the average hourly wage rate in Ontario‘s educational services sector was $39.84, above the provincial average of $34.63.
Table 2. Top 5 Occupations
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
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RECENT HISTORY
Elementary and secondary schools: For the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years, the Government of Ontario allocated public school boards additional funding through the COVID-19 Learning Recovery Fund. This funding was not renewed for the 2023-2024 school year, resulting in a loss of staff positions; for example, the Toronto District School Board lost over 400 positions as a result of the expired funding.
Recently, concerns have been raised about province‘s lack of funding for public school boards. While inflation has risen 17.3% since 2018, funding for schools only increased by 6.8% in 2023-2024 school year. Accordingly, employment in this subsector has been flat.
Another challenge for the subsector has been the staffing issues faced by public school boards across the province, and even more so in Northern Ontario. According to the Ontario College of Teachers, the supply of teachers in the province has not kept pace with the demand for new teachers for several years. The current shortage can be attributed to:
- Fewer new teachers certified per year since 2015 in Ontario,
- Increased annual retirements in line with an aging population,
- Pandemic disruptions which caused teachers to leave the profession on a temporary or permanent basis, and
- Student enrolment growth outpacing teacher availability in certain regions.
Other educational support roles in Ontario have also faced persistent labour shortages. In particular, school boards across the province have struggled to fill job vacancies for educational assistants, who primarily work with students with special needs. Common reasons for this include the increasingly complex and changing scope of the job requirements, poor compensation, and a lack of resources to support their roles.
Universities and colleges: Over the last decade, postsecondary enrolment in Ontario had been steadily increasing, largely due to the rise in institutions welcoming international students. Between the 2010-2011 and 2018-2019 academic years, prior to COVID-19, enrolment for Canadian students in the province rose 3.5% at universities and fell 6.7% at colleges. In comparison, international student enrolment more than doubled at universities (+131.0%) and grew more than four times at colleges (+307.2%) over the same period. Admission of international students is a financial incentive for institutions, given that they pay much higher tuition fees than Canadian students.
Despite COVID-19-related disruptions impacting the postsecondary experience, postsecondary enrolment exceeded pre-pandemic levels according to the latest data available. Between the 2019-2020 and 2021-2022 academic years, enrolment grew by 4.2% at universities and 0.7% at colleges. Notably, enrolment for international students rose 16% and 22.6% respectively, compared to a 1.8% increase in domestic students at universities and an 8.4% decline at colleges.
Graph 2. Sector Employment, Sector GDP, and Public K-12 and Postsecondary Enrolment in Ontario*
Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
Statistics Canada, Gross Domestic Product by Industry - Provincial and Territorial (Annual)
Government of Ontario, Ontario Data Catalogue
Government of Ontario, Ministry of Education
*Data are expressed as index where year 2013 = 100%
The year 2013 corresponds with the 2013-14 academic year; postsecondary data for 2022-23 (2022) and 2023-2024 (2023) were not yet available.
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EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOKS
Over the 2024-2026 forecast period, the educational services sector in Ontario is expected to see modest employment growth. Population growth and demand for postsecondary education and training will continue to drive growth in the industry. However, challenges related to labour availability and funding may temper growth.
Student enrolments in the elementary and secondary schools are projected to rise in the coming years, coinciding with a significant number of teacher retirements. Other factors, such as unfavourable working conditions, insufficient education support staff and the extension of the teacher education program to two years—which has resulted in fewer new graduates entering the profession—have made it difficult to meet the demand for teachers. Accordingly, the employment outlook is positive for teachers looking to enter the profession, but the labour shortages will constrain overall growth.
In Ontario‘s postsecondary sector, challenges moving into the future are mainly financial. The tuition cut and subsequent freeze on domestic fees since 2019, combined with underfunding and new restrictions on international student enrolment have created major financial barriers. Since post-secondary institutions, especially colleges, rely heavily on revenue from international students, program cuts and potential layoffs are anticipated, dampening the employment outlook for this subsector.
Despite these challenges, the demand for skilled workers and the necessity for post-secondary education remain strong. According to the Canadian Occupational Projection System, approximately 71% of the projected employment growth across the country between 2022 and 2031 is expected to be in occupations requiring postsecondary education, or be in management. This indicates that even though university and college fees have been climbing, demand for enrolment will likely still be high. Canadian postsecondary enrolment levels are projected to increase by 11.2% between 2022 and 2031.
Table 3. Employment Change in Educational Services: July 2019 vs. July 2024
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
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Key trends affecting the outlook of the educational services sector
- General population growth
- Funding and labour issues faced by public school boards
- Demand for postsecondary education and training to prepare current and future workers for the labour market
- Funding, tuition freeze and changes to the international student intake affecting postsecondary institutions financial stability
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Note: In preparing this document, the authors have taken care to provide clients with labour market information that is timely and accurate at the time of publication. Since labour market conditions are dynamic, some of the information presented here may have changed since this document was published. Users are encouraged to also refer to other sources for additional information on the local economy and labour market. Information contained in this document does not necessarily reflect official policies of Employment and Social Development Canada.
Prepared by: Labour Market and Socio-economic Information Directorate, Service Canada, Ontario Region
For further information, please contact LMSID at: Contact: Labour Market Information - Canada.ca (services.gc.ca)
APPENDIX
Table A1. Geographical Distribution of the Sector
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
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Table A2. Characteristics of Employed Persons
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey
*Average annual growth rate for last ten years available data
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| Educational Services | All Sectors | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment, 2023 | Share of Total (%) | AAGR (%) * | Share of Total (%) | AAGR (%) * | ||
| Employment | 565,400 | 100.0% | 1.6% | 100.0% | 1.6% | |
| Male | 188,100 | 33.3% | 2.1% | 52.6% | 1.7% | |
| Female | 377,300 | 66.7% | 1.5% | 47.4% | 1.4% | |
| 15-24 years old | 56,300 | 10.0% | 3.3% | 13.2% | 1.3% | |
| 25-54 years old | 396,000 | 70.0% | 1.4% | 65.0% | 1.2% | |
| 55 years and older | 113,100 | 20.0% | 2.0% | 21.8% | 3.0% | |
| Worked full-time | 434,000 | 76.8% | 1.8% | 82.7% | 1.8% | |
| Worked part-time | 131,400 | 23.2% | 1.2% | 17.3% | 0.3% | |
| Self-employed | 34,400 | 6.1% | 5.0% | 13.6% | 0.4% | |
| Employees | 531,100 | 93.9% | 1.5% | 86.4% | 1.8% | |
| Permanent job | 402,700 | 71.2% | 1.2% | 76.6% | 1.9% | |
| Temporary job | 128,300 | 22.7% | 2.9% | 9.7% | 0.9% | |
| Less than high school | 13,600 | 2.4% | 2.9% | 6.1% | -2.1% | |
| High school graduate | 61,200 | 10.8% | 1.1% | 22.3% | -0.4% | |
| Postsecondary cert. or diploma | 120,200 | 21.3% | 2.6% | 32.3% | 1.3% | |
| University degree | 369,300 | 65.3% | 1.7% | 39.3% | 4.1% | |