NDP: FAO finds rising unemployment, slowing job growth as Ford’s jobs disaster continues

QUEEN’S PARK –– A new report from Ontario’s Financial Accountability Office (FAO) is raising concerns about the direction of the province’s labour market; as Ontario NDP Shadow Finance Minister Jessica Bell (University—Rosedale); and Shadow Economic Development, Job Creation, and Trade Minister Catherine Fife (Waterloo) say the Ford government is yet again falling short for workers:

“While Doug Ford is grieving the loss of his new private jet, Ontario's economy is in freefall,” said Bell. “The unemployment numbers in this report are incredibly alarming. There are more Ontarians looking for work now than in any time over the last 14 years — excluding the pandemic — at a time when life has never been more unaffordable.

“Ford is a jobs disaster. Over 700,000 hard-working people are wondering how they’re going to afford groceries, fill up their vehicle, or pay their rent. We need more public infrastructure and public services, from schools to hospitals, and stronger Buy Ontario rules to keep and create good jobs in our province."

“Doug Ford talks about an “historic economy”, but the FAO is telling a different story,” said Fife. “8,400 manufacturing jobs have been lost, as Ontario’s economy continues to soften. Windsor, Oshawa, Guelph, and Brantford are all seeing unemployment grow faster than the provincial average. The only sectors seeing growth are low-wage jobs.

“The Premier has failed to steer us through the tariff war. He and the previous Liberal government have handed us historically high unemployment and job losses since 2015. Burning tax dollars on commercials about how great life is in Ontario is not a jobs strategy. The only “historic” thing about this is the size of Ford’s jobs disaster."