A recent economic report by the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) revealed that employment and labour force increased slightly from July to August, while the unemployment rate ticked up from 4.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent.
According to the report, numbers have been cooling down since the summers of the past two years. Total non-residential permit value rose by 25.6 per cent month-over-month from June to July. Gains were primarily from strong showings in the commercial and industrial sectors, however, the institutional sector remained relatively high despite its month-over-month decrease.
From July to August, employment increased from 579.4K to 581.6K, and the labour force went up from 604.9K to 609.1K.
The report noted that the unemployment rate rose a bit from 4.2 per cent to 4.5 per cent but remained far below the overall Ontario rate of 8.3 per cent.
In comparison to the last two summers, there has been a notable change. Employment moderated this summer, as figures were six to seven per cent lower than in 2023, which saw record high employment and labour force numbers.
In terms of total ICI permit value, it increased from $2.01 billion in June to $2.52 billion in July.
The commercial sector posted a 35.5 per cent month-over-month increase, from $793.6 million to roughly $1 billion.
Despite a strong monthly movement, the sector was down -1.2 per cent year-over-year. Industrial building permit value saw a 121.6 per cent month-over-month gain, from $328.6 million to $728.3 million. This was also a big+273.1 per cnt year-over-year difference.
This value was the second highest on record, according to the report, in current unadjusted dollars and the highest on record for seasonally adjusted dollars. This was mainly due to permitting for the expansion of a tire manufacturing plant in Greater Napanee.
The institutional sector posted a -19.1 per cent month-over-month decline from a large $882.9 million to $714.2 million. Year-to-date permit value changes were positive overall, despite the industrial sector was a -3.6 per cent below the previous year’s year-to-date value.
