Finance & accounting · Analyzing & Problem-solving

Economist: what the job actually is

Using data and theory to explain how money, work and prices behave, and to advise governments and businesses on what to do.

Published October 6, 2026Last reviewed October 6, 2026How we research and correct this

Economist salary in Ontario: the median pay is $51.28 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is limited. The job usually needs a university degree.

Median pay in Ontario: $51.28 an hour
Pay range (low to high): $35.71 to $71.79 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027: Limited
People working in it in Ontario: 11,850
Usually needs: Usually a university degree

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 41401. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

Gathering data, building and testing models, and writing reports and briefing notes that explain what is happening in an economy or a market and what might happen next.
Job Bank's group is economists and economic policy researchers and analysts. It covers many specialties, such as labour, trade, health, finance and the environment.
Job Bank says the occupation is not regulated in Canada, so no licence is required. It says a master's degree in economics or a related discipline, such as business administration or statistics, is usually required, and that a doctorate may be needed for some positions.
Job Bank lists the employers as finance and insurance companies such as banks, and public administration, mainly the federal government.
Job Bank rates the Ontario outlook for this group Limited. It says employment growth will lead to a few new positions, and names general job cuts in financial services and moderation in hiring in the public sector as affecting prospects.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

9:00 — Open the new data release. Someone upstairs wants to know by this afternoon what it means.
9:30 — Clean and check the numbers. One series has a break in it, and you spend half an hour working out why.
11:00 — Run a model. The result is not what you expected, so you check your code and your assumptions.
12:00 — Lunch, while arguing about whether a policy would raise or lower prices.
13:00 — Write the first two paragraphs of a briefing note. It must be short, and a non-economist must be able to follow it.
14:30 — Meeting. Your boss asks if you are sure. You say what you know and what you do not.
15:30 — Revise a chart so that it says one thing clearly.
16:30 — Read a new research paper that contradicts something you wrote last month.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

How you actually get there in Ontario

Do an undergraduate degree
Economics is the usual start, but Job Bank says a related discipline such as business administration or statistics is also accepted at the master's level. Search ontariouniversitiesinfo.ca for economics and statistics programmes, and read the maths courses each one requires.
Do a master's degree
Job Bank says a master's degree in economics or a related discipline is usually required. Ask each programme how long it is, what it costs, and where its graduates work.
Consider a doctorate for some jobs
Job Bank says a doctorate in economics may be needed for some positions. It is a long commitment, so find out whether the jobs you want actually ask for it.
Look where the employers are
Job Bank names banks and other finance and insurance companies, and the federal government. Read the outlook honestly: it is rated Limited, so build skills in data and statistics that also work in other jobs, such as data analyst and financial analyst.

Where this comes from: Job Bank — Economists and economic policy researchers and analysts (NOC 41401), requirements · Ontario Universities Info — program search

The money

Economist salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$35.71: Low (hourly)
$51.28: Median (hourly)
$71.79: High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 41401. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Economist wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Limited2 out of 5 stars

Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

What is changing in this work

Need for research and data-based evidence to support decision making, and to monitor business conditions
However, general job cuts in the financial services, and moderation in hiring in the public sector are expected to affect job prospects

Who hires for it

Finance and insurance companies such as banks
Public administration, mainly the federal government

11,850: people work in this job in Ontario
44%: are women (48% across all jobs)
5%: are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Economists and economic policy researchers and analysts job prospects in Ontario (NOC 41401). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

Take the highest maths you can, plus data management and any statistics course. Take economics or business courses if your school offers them.
Practise writing a one-page explanation of a news story about prices, jobs or interest rates, for a reader who has not followed it.
Look at how Statistics Canada publishes data, and try finding one chart that you can explain.
Check the entry requirements for economics and statistics programmes at several Ontario universities.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Answer one economic question with real data

About 90 minutes

Pick a simple question, such as whether the price of something you buy has gone up over the past few years, or how many people in your town work in a certain industry.
Find a data source from Statistics Canada or another official site, and write down exactly what it measures and what it does not.
Make a simple chart or table and write three sentences that answer the question and say what you are unsure about.
Show it to someone and ask whether they understood it without you explaining.

What it tells you. If you liked finding the data, working out what it really measured and writing the answer plainly, this is the daily job, with more maths. If the searching and caveats felt like a slog, or you wanted a firm answer the data could not give, the master's degree and a Limited outlook make that a costly thing to find out later.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

“What kind of questions do you work on, and who uses the answers?”
“How much of your time is maths and data, and how much is writing and meetings?”
“What degree did you need, and what would you do differently?”
“How did you find your first job, and what is the market like?”
“Which skills outside economics have helped you most?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Sometimes, as a consultant. Job Bank shows a low share of self-employment in this group. An economist can offer research or analysis to businesses and organisations, but clients usually want a track record first.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does an economist make in Ontario?

The median pay for an economist in Ontario is $51.28 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $35.71 to $71.79 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for an economist in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as limited for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements. There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become an economist in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a university degree. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Do an undergraduate degree; Do a master's degree; Consider a doctorate for some jobs.

Where does an economist work in Ontario?

Finance and insurance companies such as banks. Public administration, mainly the federal government. (Job Bank.)

How many people work as an economist in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 11,850 people working in this job in Ontario. 44% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Where people come from

Which programs lead here?

In the 2021 Census, this job is one of the 12 most common for graduates of these programs. Each page shows what else they do, and which of those jobs have openings.

Mathematics and statistics degree3.1% of employed Ontarians aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher in mathematics and statistics work as economists and economic policy researchers and analysts.Census 2021

What can you do with your degree?

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

Start from yourself, not from the job.

Future Finder is free, takes about ten minutes, needs no account and stores nothing. It will tell you which kinds of work you lean toward, and which of these pages are worth your time.

Try Future Finder — free All jobs

Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

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