Published Jul 03, 2023 • 3 minute read
The Windsor region’s economy remains resilient despite interest rate hikes, supply chain snafus and inflation as just-released Statistics Canada data confirm the area has the second-best ranking in Ontario for real-time business conditions.
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The data measures the level of business activity across Canada for the week ending June 19. Only the Kitchener area scored higher for business activity in the province.
“This is another data set indicating what we’ve been experiencing the last little while — strong growth, rising demand for workers and an expanding local economy,” said Workforce WindsorEssex CEO Justin Falconer.
“In the past 14 months, job postings have been 14 per cent higher than the previous 14 months. The number of companies hiring is nine per cent higher.”
Since March 2022, there have been nearly 59,000 new jobs posted on Workforce WindsorEssex’s jobs board from 6,461 employers. Just under 48,000 of those jobs are permanent, full-time positions.
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That has resulted in a nearly two per cent drop in the local unemployment rate since March 2022 (8.3 per cent) and the number of people employed has grown by approximately 38,000 in 21/2 years.
The growth in employment is outstripping the growth in population,” Falconer said. “Our participation rate in the workforce has gone from 57.2 per cent to 65.3.
“A lot more people in the workforce creates new wealth and income. It helps fund business expansion and growth.
“The local economy is much larger than it was three years ago.”
Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce president Rakesh Naidu said the robust economic growth is more impressive given the various economic headwinds.
He noted the area is fortunate to have several large construction projects, such as the Gordie Howe Bridge, NextStar Energy battery plant and the Highway 3 expansion, to serve as buffers to the Bank of Canada’s high interest rate policy.
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“We continue to move forward generating more jobs and attracting more people to our region,” Naidu said. “The growth of our population is an underrated factor in our economic growth.
“It’s a good indicator of the strength of our economy. These strengths we’ve been acquiring will stand out with even more growth as interest rates and inflation are tamed by the end of this year hopefully.”
Statistics Canada had more good news for the region Monday when it reported that manufacturing grew by 0.8 per cent in May compared to April. The report said the positive numbers were driven by the automobile industry and the manufacturing of machinery.
The number of job postings in those sectors locally has grown by 15 per cent or 8,214 jobs in the past 14 months.
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“The ripple effect from manufacturing and construction is strong,” Naidu said.
“Eight to 10 years ago those sectors were around 40,000 people. We have grown our overall workforce by about that amount in 21/2 years.
“To see that with these headwinds tells you how strong the economy has been.”
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The manufacturers seeking employees contain some of the premier companies in the region. Flex N Gate, Pernod Ricard, Windsor Mold Group, Stellantis and Centreline (Windsor) had the most job postings over the past 14 months in the sector.
Falconer said he expects the economic growth to accelerate over the next couple of years.
“The oversized contributor is the battery plant,” Falconer said.
“That has drawn companies from outside the area to consider locating here that might not have. We’ve heard some announcements and I’m sure there are dozens more companies checking out the region.
“Realtors are telling me they’re getting a lot of interest and activity from out-of-town companies.”
Dwaddell@postmedia.com
Twitter.com/winstarwaddell
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