The latest Labour Force Survey data from Tourism HR Canada indicates that the Canadian tourism sector grew slightly from the previous month, with increases in both employment (+0.6%) and the overall labour force (+0.9%). While the sector slightly outperformed the broader national economy, labour force growth outpaced immediate hiring, causing the unemployment rate to edge up slightly to 6.8%. This trend aligns with typical seasonal patterns, as post-secondary students enter the job market ahead of the peak summer hiring period.
Tourism’s share of total employment in Canada remained unchanged from March at 9.9%, consistent with recent years and half a percentage point above pre-pandemic baselines.
Ontario Highlights
Key highlights from the April 2026 report for the province include:
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Outperforming the General Provincial Economy: Ontario’s tourism sector unemployment rate of 6.1% is lower than the provincial unemployment rate across all sectors of 7.4%.
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One of the Top Five Provinces: At 6.1% tourism sector unemployment rate, Ontario is one of only five provinces in Canada where the tourism sector outperformed the total provincial economy in unemployment metrics in April 2026.
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Total Tourism Employment: 788,300 workers were employed in Ontario’s tourism sector representing 9.6% of employment across all sectors.
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Part-Time Employment: Part-time employment accounted for 40.7% of the province’s tourism workforce compared to 17.8% part-time average across all sectors.
The full report features comprehensive data across specific industry groups, provincial breakdowns and more insights.
Find the April 2026 Labour Force Survey results and historic data on the Tourism HR Canada website.
