Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental and Leasing (NAICS 52, 53): Ontario, 2025
Highlights
- There were 703,400 people employed in Ontario’s finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (FIRE) industry, comprising 8.6% of Ontario’s total workforce in 2024.
- Employment in the FIRE industry increased by 3.5% in 2024.
- Over the 2025-2027 period, the FIRE sector is expected to experience tempered job growth in Ontario, as growth of this industry is largely dependent on macroeconomic factors and the overall health of the economy.
About the Sector
Composition and importance of the sector
The FIRE sector is comprised of two main subsectors. The finance and insurance industry comprises firms that are engaged in and facilitate financial transactions such as banks, monetary authorities, and credit unions. Insurance companies also belong to this subsector. The real estate, rental, and leasing subsector is composed of firms that are involved with selling, renting, and buying real estate.
In 2024, the sector employed 703,400 people, comprising of 8.6% of Ontario’s total employment. The sector contributed $207.6 billion to the provincial economy in 2024, accounting for 23.3% of Ontario’s total GDP. This is the largest contribution of any industry in Ontario. Compared to the previous year, GDP increased by 4.2% (+$8.4 billion).
The finance and insurance subsector makes up the largest employment share of the overall industry, comprising of 75.2% of total employment in the sector. Within the finance and insurance subsector, the leading share of employment is in the credit intermediation services, which function mostly as personal and commercial banks.
| Monetary Authorities - Central Bank and Credit Intermediation and Related Activities | Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Intermediation and Related Activities | Insurance Carriers and Related Activities and Funds and Other Financial Vehicles | Real Estate | Rental and Leasing Services and Owners and Lessors of Other Non-Financial Assets | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39% | 15% | 20% | 22% | 3% |
Description of graphic in accessible text
A pie graph that shows the breakdown of employment by subsector in 2024. Monetary authorities – Central Bank and credit intermediation and related activities account for 39% of employment, followed by real estate (22%), insurance carriers and related activities, funds and other financial vehicles (20%), and securities, commodity contracts and other intermediation and related activities (15%). Rental and leasing services as well as owners and lessors of other non-financial assets made up the remaining 3%.
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table
Geographical distribution of employment
This industry is particularly prevalent in the Toronto economic region (ER) where 64.8% (456,000) of the workers are employed. The industry is over-represented in the Toronto ER, where 11.8% of all employment in the region is in the FIRE sector, compared to only 8.6% for Ontario as a whole. The region is home to the headquarters of all the major Canadian banks.
| Ottawa | 41,500 | 5.9% |
| Kingston-Pembroke | 9,100 | 1.3% |
| Muskoka-Kawarthas | 9,600 | 1.4% |
| Toronto | 456,000 | 64.8% |
| Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie | 62,100 | 8.8% |
| Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula | 57,300 | 8.1% |
| London | 27,800 | 4.0% |
| Windsor-Sarnia | 16,000 | 2.3% |
| Stratford-Bruce Peninsula | 8,400 | 1.2% |
| Northeast | 11,900 | 1.7% |
| Northwest | n/a | n/a |
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table
*Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Workforce
Workforce characteristics
- Males accounted for 49.2% of employees in Ontario’s FIRE sector workforce in 2024, compared to 47.2% for all industries.
- Approximately 91.9% of workers in this sector are full-time employees, compared to 82.4% across all industries provincially.
- Approximately 59.3% of employees within this sector had a university degree, higher than the provincial average of 41.7%.
- The average hourly wage of workers in finance and insurance was $31.08 and $26.83 in real estate, rental and leasing. The provincial average across all sectors was $30.50 in 2024.
| 63101 Real estate agents and salespersons | 63,400 | 9.0% |
|---|---|---|
| 11102 Financial advisors | 48,500 | 6.9% |
| 10021 Banking, credit and other investment managers | 42,700 | 6.1% |
| 63100 Insurance agents and brokers | 37,900 | 5.4% |
| 63102 Financial sales representatives | 33,600 | 4.8% |
| 10020 Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers | 30,600 | 4.4% |
| 64400 Customer services representatives - financial institutions | 27,100 | 3.9% |
| 11109 Other financial officers | 25,000 | 3.6% |
| 14201 Banking, insurance and other financial clerks | 18,600 | 2.6% |
| 13101 Property administrators | 16,800 | 2.4% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table
Note: The NOCs listed make up approximately half of those employed in the sector.
Recent History
Employment in the finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (FIRE) sector is generally dependent on the state of the overall economy. As the economy experiences a cycle of growth, demand for services within this industry tends to grow as well. Since the 2008 recession, employment in this sector grew at a steady rate, before flattening in 2020. In the past five years, sector employment grew by an average of 3.3% year-over-year. In comparison, over the same period, the growth rate across all industries in Ontario was around 2.0%.
Finance and Insurance
The finance industry has faced various challenges in recent years, with a weaker macroeconomic environment, declining home sales, and subdued consumer confidence, all of which have dampened demand for traditional banking products and commercial lending. At the same time, the sector has accelerated digitalization and the adoption of artificial intelligence to streamline operations. Furthermore, these developments have coincided with widespread layoffs across major banking institutions, driven by cost-cutting and automation.
The insurance sector is facing cost pressures from rising claims, inflation, and evolving regulatory requirements. Environmental events such as floods and wildfires have intensified in both frequency and severity, leading to unprecedented losses for customers in 2024. These incidents led to over $7 billion in insured losses and more than 250,000 claims—an amount that's 50% higher than what Canadian insurers typically handle in a full year. Additionally, automobile thefts have increased sharply in recent years, surpassing the $1.5B mark in 2023 – impacting Ontario the most. These higher claim-related expenses have driven insurers to seek increased revenues in the form of higher premiums to offset elevated risks and minimize financial losses. Additionally, rising tariffs have increased the cost of claim settlements, particularly when resources are sourced through cross-border trade.
Real Estate, Rental and Leasing
Over the past few years, Ontario’s real estate sector has faced a prolonged slowdown, highlighted by a sharp decline in home sales, down 5.1% year-over-year in October 2025 and a significant drop in housing starts across the province. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) projects a slowdown in condominium construction, driven by weakening demand in both resale and rental markets. These trends are further compounded by broader macroeconomic challenges, including elevated borrowing costs, weak consumer certainty, rising unemployment, and sluggish GDP growth.
| Year* | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment | 100.0 | 104.6 | 106.9 | 109.2 | 112.6 | 118.6 | 118.4 | 124.4 | 132.6 | 134.3 | 139.0 |
| GDP | 100.0 | 104.1 | 107.4 | 112.8 | 115.4 | 119.1 | 122.2 | 128.5 | 128.9 | 129.0 | 133.1 |
| Average Weekly Earnings | 100.0 | 102.2 | 106.8 | 108.6 | 112.6 | 113.1 | 122.5 | 127.5 | 132.0 | 132.8 | 138.9 |
Description of graphic in accessible text
This line graph shows changes in three indicators related to Ontario’s finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing sector over a 10-year period. Employment has increased steadily between 2014 and 2024, except for marginal declines in 2020 and 2023. Both GDP and average weekly earnings have also been on upward trajectories, closely mirroring employment.
Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table; Statistics Canada, Gross Domestic Product by Industry - Provincial and Territorial (annual), Table 36-10-0711-01; and Statistics Canada, Average weekly earnings by industry (annual), Table 14-10-0204-01
*Data are expressed as an index, where year 2014 = 100%
Employment Outlooks
Over the 2025 to 2027 period, the FIRE industry is expected to experience subdued job growth in Ontario.
Several factors are contributing to tempered growth expectations within the FIRE industry, including the current macroeconomic environment, real estate slowdown, and technological trends impacting consumer behaviour.
Finance and Insurance
Economic conditions such as elevated interest rates and a weak labour market may lead to less spending on financial products (e.g., investments, mortgages, credit, and new insurance policies). For example, consumers are less likely to invest or purchase mortgages when interest rates are high. This may cause less demand for certain jobs within this subsector. However, indicators show that the challenging conditions may ease in the short-term; as softened inflation has led the Bank of Canada to continue an interest rate cutting cycle.
Additionally, the financial services industry is undergoing many technological changes. The future of banking includes continued innovation in the areas of engineering, automation tools, artificial intelligence, cloud technology, and advancing cybersecurity defences. As a result, individuals with skills in software development, IT operations, machine learning, and automation are highly coveted to work in this subsector. Some companies are laying off employees who work in the traditional areas within the subsector to enable hiring of employees in these new fields.
Real estate, rental and leasing
Employment in Ontario’s real estate, rental and leasing sector is highly dependent on the strength of the real estate market. Due to various factors, most notably inflation and relatively high interest rates, employment growth in this subsector is expected to be muted throughout the forecast period. However, interest rate cuts may provide relief for buyers and spur demand for residential housing in the short-term.
Key trends affecting the outlook of the finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing
- Macroeconomic factors and the overall health of the economy.
- Continued slowdown in the provincial real estate market.
- Technological advancements in artificial intelligence and digitalization.
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.
Portions of this sector profile were prepared with support from artificial intelligence (AI) tools, in accordance with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) guidelines. All AI-assisted content has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance with ESDC standards.
Prepared by: Labour Market and Socio-economic Information Directorate, Service Canada, Ontario Region
For further information, please contact the Labour Market Information Directorate.
Appendix
| 2022-2024 Average | 2022-2024 Average | |
| Ontario | 100.0% | 8.6% |
| Ottawa | 5.8% | 4.9% |
| Kingston-Pembroke | 1.5% | 4.2% |
| Muskoka-Kawarthas | 1.3% | 4.6% |
| Toronto | 66.0% | 12.0% |
| Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie | 8.1% | 6.5% |
| Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula | 7.9% | 6.7% |
| London | 4.0% | 6.8% |
| Windsor-Sarnia | 2.4% | 4.9% |
| Stratford-Bruce Peninsula | 1.0% | 4.2% |
| Northeast | 1.5% | 3.7% |
| Northwest | 0.5% | 3.3% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment, 2024 | Share of Total (%) | AAGR (%)* | Share of Total (%) | AAGR (%)* | |
| Employment | 703,400 | 100.0% | 3.4% | 100.0% | 1.8% |
| Male | 357,600 | 50.8% | 4.4% | 52.8% | 1.9% |
| Female | 345,800 | 49.2% | 2.5% | 47.2% | 1.7% |
| 15-24 years old | 41,700 | 5.9% | 4.9% | 12.6% | 1.0% |
| 25-54 years old | 513,800 | 73.0% | 3.6% | 66.2% | 1.8% |
| 55 years and older | 147,900 | 21.0% | 3.0% | 21.2% | 2.6% |
| Worked full-time | 646,600 | 91.9% | 3.7% | 82.4% | 2.1% |
| Worked part-time | 56,800 | 8.1% | 1.3% | 17.6% | 0.8% |
| Self-employed | 107,200 | 15.2% | 3.5% | 13.5% | 0.9% |
| Employees | 596,100 | 84.7% | 3.5% | 86.5% | 2.0% |
| Permanent job | 571,500 | 81.2% | 3.6% | 77.0% | 2.2% |
| Temporary job | 24,600 | 3.5% | 3.3% | 9.5% | 0.8% |
| Less than high school | 7,900 | 1.1% | 0.8% | 5.8% | -2.0% |
| High school graduate | 91,000 | 12.9% | -0.5% | 21.2% | -0.9% |
| Postsecondary cert. or diploma | 186,300 | 26.5% | 2.3% | 31.3% | 1.3% |
| University degree | 417,400 | 59.3% | 5.8% | 41.7% | 5.1% |
Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Tables
*Average annual growth rate for last ten years available data
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