Windsor’s jobless rate drops to 4.9%
Expert cites stronger manufacturing, higher auto sales for region’s revival
Windsor’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.9 per cent — the lowest the statistic has been for the region in decades, and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
According to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey released Friday, Windsor’s unemployment rate for April was the eighth lowest among the census metropolitan areas included in the survey.
The Canadian unemployment rate was 6.5 per cent and the Ontario unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent.
Our rate for April showed a 0.3 per cent decrease from our rate in March, and a 0.2 per cent decrease compared to February. It’s the first time Windsor’s rate has been recorded below 5.1 per cent since at least 2001.
A decade ago, Windsor’s unemployment rate at this time of the year was 9.4 per cent — one of the highest in Canada.
Such a change of fortunes hasn’t escaped the notice of economy watchers.
“Windsor’s economy is doing remarkably well,” praised Craig Alexander, chief economist of the Conference Board of Canada.
“In fact, in terms of the growth forecast for this year, amongst all the cities in Canada, we expect Windsor-Essex to show the second strongest growth in the country — right after Toronto.”
Alexander was in Windsor on Friday to speak at the CBoC’s firstever Windsor-Essex Business Outlook event.
The reason for the region’s resurgence? Alexander credited an invigorated manufacturing sector. “What we’ve seen is a lot of strength. After a very difficult time, for many years, the manufacturing and auto sectors have really come back to life.”
Part of that is due to strong demand in the U.S. automobile market: Alexander pointed out that nine out of 10 vehicles made in Canada are sold in the U.S.
“The level of auto sales in North America is quite high,” Alexander said.
Indeed, the auto market has been so robust that Alexander believes our rate of growth will see some moderation when that activity inevitably settles down.
If we want to keep our positive trend going, we’ll need to stay on top of the industry with education and training. “One thing that we must continue to push on is upscaling the labour force,” Alexander said.
“We’re still seeing situations where firms report they can’t find the highly-skilled workers they need. This acts as a constraint on growth.”
Another thing to watch for is “disruptive technologies.” Barrie Kirk, executive director of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence, was another featured speaker at the Business Outlook event.
According to Kirk, the technology and manufacturing sectors are converging, which can present complications, but also major opportunities.
Kirk believes fully autonomous transport trucks will our reality by 2030. While that will eradicate an entire field of employment, Kirk believes Windsor-Essex can position itself in the years to come as a leading hub for the research and production of self-driving cars and trucks.
With the right workers, the right business environment, and the right governmental support, our region could become one of the most “friendly” places to develop, test, and deploy autonomous vehicles.
“It’s the Birth of Cars 2.0,” Kirk said.
Amongst all the cities in Canada, we expect WindsorEssex to show the second strongest growth in the country — right after Toronto.