Hamilton's economy?

[Duckyboy]

Originally Posted by mattgrande

I'm surprised that no Western cities are in the top five.

Too expensive in Vancouver? That's all I got.

[north 42]

I'm just happy to see Windsor and London in the top 5. Good for Hamilton, looks like southern Ontario cities are starting to climb out of the recession finally.

[fuller]

They`re apparently doing a pretty good job down there at EcDev but they need to try better to refrain from using cliches and platitudes.

From an American perspective, `north of the 49th parallel`might work, but has Neil Everson looked at an atlas lately? Or perhaps he was in fact making comparison to the more western provinces.

[thistleclub]

Here's the related Site Selection article.

Good on EcDev (I'm confident they're making hay while the sun shines) but there are obviously a thousand parents. The article might have been more generous with its praise of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, which has played a part (eg. investing $43.6 million at ArcelorMittal Dofasco in January). It also elides the double-edged sword of government incentives, for example, as well as the nuances of the employment market (eg. Max Aicher bought a mill off US Steel that had employed 300, rehired 100 of those when it fired up the facility in November, then idled 40 in July).

Nitpicky, true.

Pity, though, that the list of projects isn't made available. After all, EcDev’s own year-end numbers showed institutional investments markedly up ($188.23m), commercial marginally up ($139.75m) and industrial ($163.63m) and other/misc ($13.78m) down: $505.4m non-residential investments in 2010 vs $410.2m non-residential investments in 2009, a year-over-year increase beefed up by a $102m institutional gain. In view of that fact (and a category as broad as “new corporate investment”), it'd be interesting to define the role of major public entities like Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation or the Corporation of the City of Hamilton.

[thistleclub]

Manpower press release:

FAVOURABLE HIRING CLIMATE EXPECTED FOR HAMILTON

(Hamilton, ON September 13, 2011) – Hamilton area employers expect a favourable hiring climate for the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Survey data reveals that 23 per cent of employers plan to hire for the upcoming quarter (October to December), while seven per cent anticipate cutbacks, stated Erica Giannou of Manpower’s Hamilton office. Another 70 per cent of employers plan to maintain their current staffing levels for the upcoming quarter.

“Hamilton’s fourth quarter Net Employment Outlook of 16 per cent is an improvement from the outlook of 10 per cent reported for the previous quarter,” said Giannou. “It is also a 10 percentage point increase from the outlook reported during the same time last year indicating a positive hiring climate for the upcoming months.”


Larger context: Canada’s employment outlook droops [Eric Lam, National Post, Sept 13, 2011]

Canada’s employment outlook will get a little bleaker to close out the year, but there is still enough positive sentiment for a steady hiring climate, the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey said Tuesday.

The survey of more than 1,900 Canadian employers found 20% planned to increase their payrolls in the fourth quarter, compared with 26% a quarter ago, while 8% plan to shrink their payrolls compared with only 4% in the prior quarter.

Overall, the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook stands at +13%, down from +16% in the prior quarter. Meanwhile, 70% of employers plan to maintain staffing levels, while 2% are unsure....

The best sector for job hunters is the mining sector, with a seasonally adjusted +26% net employment outlook. The poorest, meanwhile, is the education sector, with only a +8% net employment outlook, down one percentage point from the previous quarter.

[thistleclub]

Another reflection on national vs local context:

Hamilton Jobless Rate Drops 1 Per Cent (Steve Arnold, Hamilton Spectator, Oct 8, 2011)

The latest figures from Statistics Canada show the Hamilton area posted an unemployment rate of 6.7 per cent in September. In human terms that means almost 27,000 people here are officially looking for work. Behind that number, however, the September jobs report shows the total number of people working in Hamilton has fallen and the portion of the population in the workforce has fallen while the total population has risen compared to last year.

“All of that suggests the unemployment rate is going down because people have stopped looking for work, “ said McMaster economist Arthur Sweetman. “It means people are dropping out of the workforce.”

The StatsCan report shows the population of the Grimsby-Hamilton-Burlington area grew by 6.5 per cent in the year between September 2010 and 2011 to 619,200. However, the area’s labour force fell 6.1 per cent to 401,200 from September 2010. That means 64.8 per cent of the population was in the labour force, down 1.7 per cent from a year ago. The portion of that group actually working also fell 1 per cent.

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

The StatsCan report shows the population of the Grimsby-Hamilton-Burlington area grew by 6.5 per cent in the year between September 2010 and 2011 to 619,200.

That's a huge jump in population, 6.5%. From 2007 to 2008 the CMA increased by 1.5%.

[flar]

That's absolute garbage reporting.

For one thing, that's not the total population, but the total population age 15 and older. Hamilton-Burlington-Grimsby has had well over 700,000 people for several years.

Second, the population age 15 and older didn't increase by 6.5%, it increased by 6.5 thousand. The increase in population 15+ from sept 2010 to sept 2011 was 1.1%. The reporter made the same mistake with the labour force, which decreased by 1.5%, not 6.1%.

[thistleclub]

I'm not vouching for the article's accuracy (The Spec's business reporting is usually weak), just posting, partly as a follow-up to an earlier Arnold piece. What seems clear to me is that Hamilton always looks better when it gets grouped with the A students, whether you're talking about incomes, housing starts or job growth. Hamilton's unemployment rate would be considerably steeper if we assessed Hamilton alone.

Five years ago, for example:

• The Grimsby-Hamilton-Burlington area had a combined population of 692,911, a labour force of 369,700 and 189,840 citizens (27.4% of the Grimsby-Hamilton-Burlington population at the time) not in the labour force. The CMA's unemployment rate stood at 6.0%, while Ontario's unemployment rate was 6.4%.
• Hamilton's participation rate was 64.7%. Its labour force was 263,600 citizens; its employment rate was 60.4% and its unemployment was 6.5%. Its population was 504,559, 143,995 (28.5%) of whom were not in the labour force.
• Burlington's participation rate was 69.8%. Its labour force was 92,590 citizens; its employment rate was 66.5% and its unemployment rate was 4.6%. Its population was 164,415, 40,110 (24.4%) of whom were not in the labour force.
• Grimsby's participation rate was 70.2%. Its labour force was 13,515 citizens; its employment rate was 66.8% and its unemployment rate was 4.8%. Its population at the time was 23,935, 5,735 (24%) of whom were not in the labour force.

[flar]

Just imagine the stats if Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek and the Mountain were factored out.

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by flar

Just imagine the stats if Ancaster, Dundas, Stoney Creek and the Mountain were factored out.

Then it wouldn't be Hamilton.

[Duckyboy]

• The Grimsby-Hamilton-Burlington area had a combined population of 692,911, a labour force of 369,700 and 189,840 citizens (27.4% of the Grimsby-Hamilton-Burlington population at the time) not in the labour force. The CMA's unemployment rate stood at 6.0%, while Ontario's unemployment rate was 6.4%.
• Hamilton's participation rate was 64.7%. Its labour force was 263,600 citizens; its employment rate was 60.4% and its unemployment was 6.5%. Its population was 504,559, 143,995 (28.5%) of whom were not in the labour force.
• Burlington's participation rate was 69.8%. Its labour force was 92,590 citizens; its employment rate was 66.5% and its unemployment rate was 4.6%. Its population was 164,415, 40,110 (24.4%) of whom were not in the labour force.
• Grimsby's participation rate was 70.2%. Its labour force was 13,515 citizens; its employment rate was 66.8% and its unemployment rate was 4.8%. Its population at the time was 23,935, 5,735 (24%) of whom were not in the labour force.[/QUOTE]

Wow... with a population 3 times the size of Burlington, and 38(!) times the size of Grimsby's coupled with a higher unemployment rate = LOTS OF PEOPLE ON SOCIAL ASSISTANCE. That's just a massive chunk of people of welfare; 24% of 160K is a manageable amount, but 28% of 500K is UNREAL!

I'm stating the obvious, but I'm just blown away at how many people who live here receive some kind of government cheque.

Either they are getting shipped here from all over or people are getting on assistance from the first day they are eligible and not looking back.

These are some numbers that I should have looked at before I moved here to start a family.

OUCH!

PS: Is Burlington nice?

[flar]

Originally Posted by bigguy1231

Then it wouldn't be Hamilton.

It would be the lower city, where most the region's economic troubles are concentrated. Hamilton is very polarized, it suffers from the American-style donut effect more than any other city in Canada, exacerbated by the fact that Burlington is a separate municipality. Every part of the Hamilton CMA is above average economically except the lower city, which is very poor.

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by Duckyboy

28% of 500K is UNREAL!

I would guess that the catch-all also includes those under 15, retired individuals and stay-at-homes. It's not cut-and-dried.

More 2006 figures for sake of comparison:

Toronto (City): 722,620 not in labour force (28.9% of 2,503,281 pop'n)
Toronto CMA: 1,306,975 not in labour force (25.6% of 5,113,149 pop'n)
Mississauga: 155,485 not in labour force (23.3% of 668,549 pop'n)

Hamilton does have socioeconomic challenges, but large cities often do.

Percentage of population in low income before tax, 2005:

Toronto (City) = 24.5%
Mississauga = 15.7%
Brampton = 13.9%
Oakville = 9.7%
Burlington = 9.5%
Hamilton = 18%
Grimsby = 8.2%

[Duckyboy]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

I would guess that the catch-all also includes those under 15, retired individuals and stay-at-homes. It's not cut-and-dried.

More 2006 figures for sake of comparison:

Toronto (City): 722,620 not in labour force (28.9% of 2,503,281 pop'n)
Toronto CMA: 1,306,975 not in labour force (25.6% of 5,113,149 pop'n)
Mississauga: 155,485 not in labour force (23.3% of 668,549 pop'n)

Hamilton does have socioeconomic challenges, but large cities often do.

Percentage of population in low income before tax, 2005:

Toronto (City) = 24.5%
Mississauga = 15.7%
Brampton = 13.9%
Oakville = 9.7%
Burlington = 9.5%
Hamilton = 18%
Grimsby = 8.2%

That's true; I didn't think of that. Thanks for pointing it out...

[LikeHamilton]

Hamilton hiring outlook not great

Jay McQueen 900 CHML 12/13/2011

Sounds like a disappointing hiring climate is on the horizon in Hamilton.

That from the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

The report suggests just 3% of employers in the city plan to hire between January and March, while 10% anticipate cutbacks.

A further 4% of employers surveyed are unsure.

However, despite the net employment outlook of minus 7, it's still 3 points ahead of the outlook for the same time last year.

[thistleclub]

Nationwide:

"The survey of more than 1,900 Canadian employers shows 16 per cent of them plan to increase their payrolls in the first quarter.

Ten per cent anticipate cutbacks and 71 per cent of employers expect to maintain current staffing levels.

Just three per cent are unsure of their hiring intentions."

[SteelTown]

Hamilton economy to grow modest 2% in 2012 report

http://www.thespec.com/news/business...in-2012-report

The Conference Board says cities in Alberta and Saskatchewan will lead Canada in growth and prosperity over the next couple of years.

The Ottawa-based economic forecaster's new metropolitan outlook has Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Regina at the top of the heap this year.

Saskatoon is expected to grow 4 per cent. Strength in Alberta’s energy sector and solid domestic demand will boost Calgary’s GDP by 3.6 per cent and Edmonton’s GDP will grow by 3.4 per cent.

Hamilton’s economy will grow by a modest 2 per cent in 2012.

Next year Vancouver will join the leaders and Toronto will tie Regina for fifth.

[thistleclub]

The CBoC report is Metropolitan Outlook 1: Economic Insights into 13 Canadian Metropolitan Economies: Winter 2012.

Not that it's broken down this way, but you can sort the findings into a Top 10.

1. Saskatoon: 4%
2. Calgary: 3.6%
3. Edmonton: 3.4%
4. Regina: 2.9%
5. Toronto & Vancouver: 2.6%
6. Halifax & Winnipeg: 2.4%
7. Quebec City: 2.1%
8: Hamilton & Montreal: 2%
9: Victoria: 1.9%
10: Ottawa/Gatineau: 1.8%

[drpgq]

Calling all animators - The Spec
Hamilton is attracting new digital firms and plans an ‘aggressive’ campaign to bring more to the city
Courtesy Pipeline...
pipeline1
Pipeline Animation Studios now calls Hamilton home. The above are samples of the company's work.

Hamilton’s business community is a lot more colourful and playful these days.

Maybe even a bit more zany.

Animators are heading to the city, perhaps not in droves yet, but certainly in a noticeable cluster.

The city has attracted at least four animation companies over the last six months.

And those who have set up shop here — Pipeline Studios, Chuck Gammage Animation Inc., Huminah Huminah Animation Studios and Topic Simple — believe they are the front-runners on what will become a wave of digital media companies seeing the value of Hamilton.