Statistics Canada’s labor force release on Friday revealed
that in Ontario there was an increase in the number of people searching for
work which pushed the unemployment rate up 0.4 percentage points
to 8.1%. In the 12 months to January 2012, employment in
the province increased with all the growth occurring in
the first half of the period. When
the numbers are examined by major urban centre, it becomes apparent that a
slowdown in employment growth has begun over the last six months with much of
it is being driven by the Toronto area.
The two accompanying figures show the percentage change in seasonally
adjusted monthly employment for major Ontario centers January 2011 to January 2012 (Figure 1) and August 2011 to January 2012 (Figure 2).
Year over year (Figure 1), there were employment increases
in Ottawa-Gatineau, Kingston, Peterborough, Oshawa, Hamilton,
St. Catharines-Niagara, Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge, Guelph, Barrie and Thunder Bay. The cities with the largest annual
percent increases in employment were Guelph, Peterborough and Thunder Bay. The last six months (Figure 2) reveal
that a slowdown has indeed begun with employment growth slowing just about
everywhere except Peterborough, Thunder Bay and Hamilton – which all saw
increases in their employment growth rate. Toronto – which accounts for 48 percent of the employment in
Ontario has seen a drop in employment of just under 1 percent over the course
of the year. Brantford has seen
the largest percentage declines in employment. Over the last six months, even the usually robust
Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge and Barrie areas have slipped into employment
declines. Right now, the best
places in Ontario for job growth are Peterborough, Hamilton, Guelph and believe
it or not – Thunder Bay.
