November 9, 2023
Summary: Employment and labour force decreased, while the unemployment rate increased from 3.7% to 4.3%. Total ICI permit value decreased by about half, as institutional permit value reverted back to more normal levels when comparing August to September.
Employment
From September to October, employment decreased from 606.8 thousand to 600.5 thousand. The labour force decreased from 630.1 thousand to 627.2 thousand.
The unemployment rate increased from 3.7% to 4.3%. This is higher than usual for October; however, it was lower than the overall Ontario unemployment rate of 5.9%. This was unchanged from the previous month’s overall unemployment rate.
PERMITS
Monthly Changes
From August to September, total ICI permit value dropped by nearly 50% ($3.11 billion – $1.55 billion). This was almost entirely due to the decrease in the institutional sector, where permit value plummeted from a record breaking $1.72 billion in August to $213 million in September. Commercial permit value decreased 17.7% ($926.2 million – $762.4 million). Industrial permit value increased 21.5% ($470.4 million – $571.3 million).
Quarterly Changes
Total ICI permit value was also up 21.9% between Q2 and Q3 2023 ($5.2 billion – $6.3 billion). Most of this increase once again came from the massive institutional sector gain from August.
Year-to-Date
Overall year-to-date ICI permit value was up 27.6% compared to the same time last year. As with August, the largest percentage increase was in the institutional sector at 69.5%.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Ali Ahmad
Research Analyst
Ontario Construction Secretariat (OCS)
180 Attwell Drive, Suite 360, Toronto, ON M9W 6A9
P 416.620.5210 ext. 222
aahmad@iciconstruction.com
