Ontario Construction News staff writer
Statistics Canada recently released new Investment in Building Construction data and a Labour Force Survey data for May, showing that construction employment in Ontario rose to 579,500 in May, the highest monthly total ever in the province (unadjusted for seasonality). This was also the fourth consecutive month-over-month increase in construction employment in Ontario, the Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS) has reported.
The Ontario construction industry’s unemployment rate fell sharply in May to 3.6 per cent, down from 5.3 per cent in April. In the previous three months (January-March), construction’s unemployment rate held at 6.2 per cent.
During the same period, the general unemployment rate in Ontario has remained steady for the past four months, increasing just slightly in May to 5.6%, up from 5.5% in April.
The New Investment in Building Construction data released this week shows total ICI investment in Ontario remained the same in April compared to March at 1.38 billion – just a tenth of a percent higher than the previous month.
Looking at the year-to-date data, ICI investment in Ontario between January-April is down by 6.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2021. Investment is also down in each of the three sectors compared to last year. Commercial investment is down by 8.4 per cent compared to the January-April period last year, while industrial investment has declined by 3.9 per cent and institutional investment is down by 0.8%
