Category : Employment and Labour Markets

This report provides the FAO’s assessment of the province’s medium-term economic performance and fiscal position, and the reasonableness and risks associated with the government’s fiscal recovery plan.

This report provides an updated Economic and Fiscal Outlook for Ontario based on developments since the release of the FAO’s spring outlook on May 31, 2017.

As part of the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, the government proposes to raise Ontario’s general minimum wage from its current rate of $11.40 per hour to $14 per hour on January 1, 2018 and $15 per hour the following year. While almost 1.6 million workers will benefit from the increase, a significant number of lower wage workers will lose their jobs and some businesses will struggle to cover higher payroll costs.

The FAO’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook provides an assessment of Ontario’s current economic outlook and the state of the provincial government’s finances.

Ontario posted a relatively strong job gain of 76,400 net new jobs in 2016, as the unemployment rate declined to 6.5 per cent. However, looking beyond the headline results reveals a labour market that is undergoing both structural and behavioural changes as well as continuing challenges for some workers.

This report provides an updated Economic and Fiscal Outlook for Ontario based on developments since the release of the FAO’s spring outlook on May 18, 2016.

The Province forecasts that it will collect $2.74 billion in service fee revenue in 2016-17. This backgrounder provides a partial list of changes to Provincial service fee rates planned for 2016-17 and includes a discussion of the growth rate of service fee revenue. Service fee revenue has increased by an average of 6.8% a year since 2011-12, largely due to the increase in revenue from vehicle and driver registration fees.  

The FAO’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook is released each spring and fall, providing an assessment of Ontario’s medium-term economic and fiscal outlook.

This report is the FAO’s first review of the current economic outlook and the state of the provincial government’s finances.