Health Care and Social Assistance (NAICS 62): Ontario, 2025
Highlights
- There were 1,007,100 people employed in Ontario’s health care and social assistance industry, comprising 12.4% of Ontario’s total workforce in 2024.
- Employment in the Ontario health care and social assistance industry increased by 2.7% in 2024.
- Employment is expected to grow over the 2025-2027 forecast period, as demand for labour is strong in the health care and social assistance sector, but labour shortages remain a limiting factor.
About the Sector
Composition and importance of the sector
The health care and social assistance sector is comprised of establishments that provide health care by diagnosis and treatment; residential care for medical and social reasons; and social assistance such as counselling, food services, and childcare.
In Ontario, the health care and social assistance sector comprised 12.4% of the total provincial workforce in 2024, employing 1,007,100 people. This represents an increase of 26,000 people (+2.7%) from 2023.
The sector in Ontario produced over $64.2 billion in GDP in 2024, contributing 7.2% to the province’s total GDP.
- Between 2023 and 2024, output in the industry grew by approximately $2.3 billion (3.7%).
- Between Q2 2024 and Q2 2025, output increased by $1.0 billion (1.6%).
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | Hospitals | Nursing and Residential Care Facilities | Social Assistance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32% | 33% | 17% | 18% |
Description of graphic in accessible text
A pie graph that shows the employment breakdown by subsectors in percentages. Hospitals made up the largest share of employment (33%), followed by ambulatory health care services (32%), social assistance (18%), and nursing and residential care facilities (17%).
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table
Geographical distribution of employment
A large share of employment in Ontario’s health care and social assistance sector is found in the Toronto Economic Region (ER) (43.1%), followed by Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula ER (10.5%), and Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie ER (9.9%).
Employment in the sector is over-represented in Northern Ontario, where health care and social assistance accounts for 21.3% of employment in the Northwest ER and 17.5% of employment in the Northeast ER, compared to 12.4% for Ontario as a whole.
Ontario represents a large proportion of the Canadian employment in this sector: more than a third of all individuals employed in health care and social assistance nationally worked in Ontario in 2024 (35.7%).
| Ottawa | 95,000 | 9.4% |
| Kingston-Pembroke | 38,700 | 3.8% |
| Muskoka-Kawarthas | 31,300 | 3.1% |
| Toronto | 434,400 | 43.1% |
| Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie | 99,500 | 9.9% |
| Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula | 106,000 | 10.5% |
| London | 59,200 | 5.9% |
| Windsor-Sarnia | 50,800 | 5.0% |
| Stratford-Bruce Peninsula | 21,800 | 2.2% |
| Northeast | 48,300 | 4.8% |
| Northwest | 22,200 | 2.2% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table
*Note: Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Workforce
Workforce characteristics
- Females accounted for 81.0% of Ontario’s health care and social assistance workforce in 2024, compared to 47.2% for all industries.
- Self-employment was less common in this sector at 12.1%, compared to 13.5% for all industries in Ontario in 2024.
- Ontario’s health care and social assistance sector had a greater share of its employees working part-time (19.8%) in 2024, compared to the provincial average across all industries (17.6%).
- A higher proportion of the sector’s workforce holds a post-secondary certificate / diploma (40.5%) or a university degree (48.6%), compared to the industry average (31.3% and 41.7%, respectively).
- The average hourly wage rate in this sector was $34.57 in 2024, above the provincial average of $30.50.
| 31301 Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | 139,700 | 13.9% |
|---|---|---|
| 33102 Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | 105,900 | 10.5% |
| 42202 Early childhood educators and assistants | 62,700 | 6.2% |
| 42201 Social and community service workers | 43,200 | 4.3% |
| 14101 Receptionists | 35,300 | 3.5% |
| 41301 Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies | 35,200 | 3.5% |
| 31102 General practitioners and family physicians | 31,400 | 3.1% |
| 13112 Medical administrative assistants | 26,000 | 2.6% |
| 32101 Licensed practical nurses | 24,500 | 2.4% |
| 41300 Social workers | 22,800 | 2.3% |
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 Ontario’s health and social assistance sector has steadily increased from 2022 to 2024. The sector employed 935,900 people in 2022, and by 2024, this number had grown by 7.6% to 1,007,100 workers (+71,200). Despite this growth, signs of labour shortages persist both nationally and within Ontario. Unfilled positions in health care and social assistance remain elevated nationally, with the sector recording the highest job vacancy rate in 2024 at 5.0% in Ontario, compared to 2.9% across all industries.
Ambulatory health care services
This subsector is comprised primarily of offices of physicians, dentists, other health practitioners, as well as diagnostic laboratories and home health care services.
In 2024, employment in ambulatory health care services declined by 3.5%, while maintaining an overall upward trajectory since 2022 (+8.5%). However, the shortage of family doctors in Ontario is expected to continue. Multiple factors are contributing to this workforce strain, including compensation levels that have not kept pace with inflation, increasing clinical demands, and the growing complexity of patient care. Additionally, a significant portion of the physician workforce is nearing retirement, while fewer graduates are entering family medicine. The demand for doctors and healthcare professionals is particularly high in northern and rural Ontario.
Hospitals
Employment in this subsector increased notably in 2024, with a growth rate of 8.5%, compared to a 0.5% growth in 2023. This growth may be partly driven by the increased use of private staffing agencies to meet rising demand. Despite this, hospitals across the province continue to face increasing operational challenges. Emergency room closures, financial pressures, and ongoing staffing shortages are straining the system as demand for healthcare services continues to rise.
The provincial government has introduced several initiatives to address health care workforce needs including the ongoing expansion of the Learn and Stay Grant program and other targeted investments to support the training and retention of nurses, physicians and other medical professionals in underserved communities.
Nursing and residential care facilities
In addition to nursing care facilities and residential care facilities, this subsector also includes other establishments that provide residential care (e.g. transition homes for women, group foster homes).
Employment in nursing and residential care facilities experienced a decline in 2023 (-6.1%), but rebounded strongly in 2024 (+11.1%). Despite this recovery, the sector continues to experience acute staffing shortages among nurses and personal support workers, largely driven by challenging working conditions and low wages that contribute to high turnover. With rising demand from an ageing population, both federal and provincial governments continue to invest in the sector.
Social assistance
This subsector is made up of establishments that provide a wide range of assistance, including individual and family services; community food and housing, and emergency services; vocational rehabilitation services; and child daycare services.
Employment in the social assistance subsector experienced strong growth in 2022 (+8.2%) and 2023 (+10.3%), but saw a 3.1% decline in 2024, even as demand for its services grew. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of individuals receiving social assistance in Ontario increased by approximately 4% compared to the previous year. Rising homelessness, mental health and addiction challenges, and lack of affordable housing are placing additional strain on the system and reinforcing the need for expanded support services across the province.
Meanwhile, employment in child day-care services has also been steadily increasing, supported by the implementation of the Canada-wide Early Learning and Childcare system.
| Year | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sector Employment | 100.0 | 101.2 | 103.9 | 108.2 | 108.1 | 113.2 | 109.1 | 114.5 | 119.0 | 124.7 | 128.0 |
| Sector GDP | 100.0 | 101.6 | 104.2 | 105.1 | 108.5 | 109.1 | 105.9 | 113.1 | 117.9 | 122.7 | 126.7 |
| Compensation (Nursing and Residential Care Facilities) | 100.0 | 108.0 | 108.7 | 111.1 | 115.9 | 120.0 | 140.0 | 143.7 | 147.3 | 150.6 |
Description of graphic in accessible text
This line graph shows changes in three indicators related to Ontario’s health care and social assistance sector over a 10-year period. Employment increased steadily from 2014 to 2019, dipped briefly in 2020, before continuing its growth trajectory. GDP growth closely resembles that of employment during this period. Compensation at nursing and residential care facilities grew consistently until 2019, jumped sharply in 2020, before resuming steady growth.
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, Public nursing and residential care facilities – Summary Statistics, Table 13-10-0101-01
*Data for employment, sector GDP and compensation are expressed as index where year 2014 = 100%. For the compensation variable, 2024 data is unavailable.
Employment Outlooks
The outlook for Ontario’s health care and social assistance sector remains positive for the 2025-2027 forecast period, supported by strong demand for workers. However, employers may face ongoing challenges in recruitment and retention.
The health care and social assistance sector is grappling with notable labour shortages and demanding working conditions, largely driven by the increasing care needs of a growing and ageing population. Recent data highlights that overtime hours among hospital health care providers (excluding physicians) have increased nationally since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Ontario, overtime accounted for 6.7% of all hours worked in 2023-2024, equivalent to 9.0 million hours. Meanwhile, the family physician workforce is also ageing, with a growing proportion nearing retirement. Staffing shortages among nurses and personal support workers have also prevented the province from achieving its target of four hours of daily direct care for long-term care residents. These pressures are reflected in the job vacancy rate across the sector, which grew from 3.2% in 2019 to 5.0% in 2024.
In response, both the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada have made significant investments to strengthen the health sector workforce in recent years (e.g., funding for hospitals, nursing education, and initiatives related to recruiting internationally educated nurses and doctors), which should help bolster the supply of workers in these occupations. The province has also passed the Primary Care Act, aimed at connecting every person in Ontario to a family doctor or primary care team, with plans to add more than 305 new and expanded teams by 2029. Additional support is being directed toward home and long-term care services, along with the social assistance subsector, through expanded mental health and addiction services and increased access to childcare spaces.
Long-term workforce development initiatives are also underway, with the province expanding medical education through the recent opening of a new medical school at Toronto Metropolitan University’s campus in Brampton and the planned opening of another at York University in 2028. These additions will create 260 new undergraduate seats and 449 postgraduate positions, bringing the total number of medical schools in Ontario to eight once fully operational.
Key trends affecting the outlook of the health care and social assistance sector
- A fast-growing ageing population
- Challenging working conditions, including heavier workloads and longer hours
- Labour, staffing, and bed shortages
- Credential recognition and supports for internationally educated nurses and doctors
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% | 12.2% |
| Ottawa | 9.6% | 11.5% |
| Kingston-Pembroke | 3.9% | 16.0% |
| Muskoka-Kawarthas | 3.1% | 15.5% |
| Toronto | 42.5% | 11.0% |
| Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie | 9.8% | 11.1% |
| Hamilton-Niagara Peninsula | 10.8% | 12.9% |
| London | 6.0% | 14.4% |
| Windsor-Sarnia | 5.1% | 14.7% |
| Stratford-Bruce Peninsula | 2.1% | 12.1% |
| Northeast | 4.8% | 17.1% |
| Northwest | 2.4% | 22.2% |
Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Table
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| Employment, 2024 | Share of Total (%) | AAGR (%)* | Share of Total (%) | AAGR (%)* | |
| Employment | 1,007,100 | 100.0% | 2.5% | 100.0% | 1.8% |
| Male | 190,900 | 19.0% | 3.9% | 52.8% | 1.9% |
| Female | 816,200 | 81.0% | 2.3% | 47.2% | 1.7% |
| 15-24 years old | 82,900 | 8.2% | 2.7% | 12.6% | 1.0% |
| 25-54 years old | 722,200 | 71.7% | 2.6% | 66.2% | 1.8% |
| 55 years and older | 202,000 | 20.1% | 2.6% | 21.2% | 2.6% |
| Worked full-time | 807,400 | 80.2% | 3.2% | 82.4% | 2.1% |
| Worked part-time | 199,800 | 19.8% | 0.4% | 17.6% | 0.8% |
| Self-employed | 121,400 | 12.1% | 3.0% | 13.5% | 0.9% |
| Employees | 885,700 | 87.9% | 2.5% | 86.5% | 2.0% |
| Permanent job | 795,900 | 79.0% | 2.7% | 77.0% | 2.2% |
| Temporary job | 89,800 | 8.9% | 2.1% | 9.5% | 0.8% |
| Less than high school | 16,700 | 1.7% | 0.4% | 5.8% | -2.0% |
| High school graduate | 93,500 | 9.3% | -1.2% | 21.2% | -0.9% |
| Postsecondary cert. or diploma | 407,900 | 40.5% | 1.2% | 31.3% | 1.3% |
| University degree | 489,000 | 48.6% | 5.5% | 41.7% | 5.1% |
Sources: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, Custom Tables; and Statistics Canada, Job permanency by industry (Annual), Table 14-10-0072-01
*Average annual growth rate for last ten years available data