'Hamilton is the real eye-catcher' in nationwide jobs numbers, says report
Hamilton CMA posts 'massive' job growth, BMO economist says, but cautions commuters may cloud the picture
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...port-1.4347990
Employment in the Hamilton census area grew by the second largest amount in the country in the third quarter, a BMO economic analysis shows.
But commuters may be clouding the rosy picture about jobs in the city, as many of those employed may be working in other centres.
The Hamilton census area – which includes Burlington and Grimsby – posted 12.5 per cent growth in employment from the same period a year earlier, according to the third-quarter BMO Regional Labour Market Report Card.
That was behind only Kelowna, B.C., for employment growth.
BMO economist and report author Robert Kavcic called the increase "massive" and noted that the unemployment rate had also fallen in the Hamilton CMA to 4.2 per cent.
"Hamilton is the real eye-catcher," Kavcic wrote.
But he issued a warning, because the numbers come from a survey based on where you live, not where you work:
"As we often caution, this partly reflects commuting out of Hamilton to jobs located elsewhere in the GTA," Kavcic wrote.
I don't think this is really bad news and with time things will balance out over time. One issue I see is that there's a fair number of software developers in Hamilton, but not enough places to work and for those that are here, the pay differential between here and Toronto is large. Hopefully some more companies will start to take advantage of that talent.