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HAMILTON HITS $2 BILLION IN CONSTRUCTION VALUE AT RECORD PACE
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Hamilton by the Numbers

Discover data about Hamilton, Ontario on:

Development, Dwellings, Economy, Households, Residents, Business Climate, Workforce

Value of Building Permits

City of Hamilton – (CDN Dollars)

In 2022, the City of Hamilton issued building permits valued at $1,856,371,964. These permits values are the second highest annual building permit value in the City of Hamilton’s history. Permits values for 2022 are approximately 87.2% of 2021’s permit values – the highest annual permit values in the City’s history – and 134.2% of 2020’s building permit values.

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Value of Building Permits
Permit Type20182019202020212022
Residential836,963,130862,400,068967,984,5311,312,607,8681,371,464,773
Commercial124,800,222138,369,667121,723,102225,871,546108,671,530
Institutional/Government149,998,645154,492,28931,767,94255,629,270132,928,415
Industrial140,016,829225,306,551242,848,809491,376,348217,474,115
Miscellaneous12,978,30327,953,18919,156,18042,681,36125,833,129

Source: City of Hamilton

Click here for a detailed breakdown of Hamilton’s building permits.

Employment by Sector

Hamilton CMA – 2021 & 2022

Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey reports on the number of people who are employed in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). Annual data from 2022 reports that there were there were 416,500 employed residents in the Hamilton CMA. This figure is up 2.0% from 2021, and is 101.3% of 2019’s pre-pandemic benchmark of 411,200 employed individuals.

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Employment by Sector
Employment Sector20212022
Wholesale and retail 6250068500
Health care 6410055800
Manufacturing4320047000
Professional services3550039200
Education3110035300
Finance and insurance3170030900
Construction3060030700
Accommodation and food services2190021800
Transportation and warehousing1660018000
Information & culture1680017800
Public administration1760017100
Support services 1550016300
Other services (1500013100
Utilities31002500
Agriculture 25001700

Source: Statistics Canada. 2021 and 2022 Labour Force Survey

Business Counts

City of Hamilton (CSD)

As of December 2022, Hamilton was home to approximately 16,348 businesses (including registered charities and not-for-profit organizations) with employees. Approximately 56.0% of Hamilton’s employers employ fewer than four people, and 75.0% of employers employ nine or fewer people. There are approximately 37,111 businesses operating without employees (i.e. establishments providing self-employment) in Hamilton.

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Business Counts
Micro (1-4 employees)9,163
Small (5-99 employees)6,860
Medium (100-499 employees)296
Large (500+ employees)29

Source: Canadian Business Counts, December 2022

Click here for a detailed breakdown of Hamilton’s businesses by business size.

Monthly Unemployment Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario

At the end of Q2 2023 (June 2023), the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area’s unemployment rate was 5.0%. This figure was down from 5.5% at the end of Q1 2023 (March 2023). Ontario finished the second quarter of 2023 with an unemployment rate of 5.7%. This figure increased from March’s unemployment rate of 5.4%.

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Monthly Unemployment Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario
22-Aug22-Sep22-Oct22-Nov22-Dec23-Jan23-Feb23-Mar23-Apr23-May23-Jun
Hamilton5.15.25.14.44.14.55.25.55.24.85
Ontario6.45.45.254.55.45.15.44.95.95.7

Source: Statistics Canada – Labour Force Survey. Tables 14-10-0017 and 14-10-0378. Seasonally unadjusted data.

Monthly Employment Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario

At the end of Q2 2023 (June 2023), the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area’s employment rate was 60.7%. This figure was a slight increase from the Q1 ending (March 2023) employment rate of 60.6%. In Ontario, Q2’s ending employment rate was 63.1%. June’s employment rate was an increase over Q1’s ending employment rate of 61.5%.

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Monthly Employment Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario
22-Aug22-Sep22-Oct22-Nov22-Dec23-Jan23-Feb23-Mar23-Apr23-May23-Jun
Hamilton62.562.362.362.762.862.361.460.660.360.360.7
Ontario62.261.261.761.861.961.461.661.561.962.663.1

Source: Statistics Canada – Labour Force Survey. Tables 14-10-0017 and 14-10-0378. Seasonally unadjusted data.

Monthly Participation Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario

At the end of Q2 2023 (June 2023), the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area’s participation rate was 63.9%. This figure remained generally consistent with Q1’s ending rate (March 2023) of 64.2% – preliminary July data show a return to the March level of 64.2%. Ontario reported a 66.9% participation rate in June 2023. While preliminary data shows this figure declined in July, it remained a slight increase over Q1’s ending participation rate of 65.0%.

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Monthly Participation Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario
22-Aug22-Sep22-Oct22-Nov22-Dec23-Jan23-Feb23-Mar23-Apr23-May23-Jun
Hamilton65.965.765.765.665.465.364.864.263.563.363.9
Ontario66.464.765.165.164.864.964.9656566.566.9

Source: Statistics Canada – Labour Force Survey. Tables 14-10-0017 and 14-10-0378. Seasonally unadjusted data.

Annual Real Estate Sales

(# of units)

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Annual Real Estate Sales
Quarters20172018201920202021
Q12,3591,5861,69420012702
Q22,9012,2402,68918713389
Q31,8671,9962,30031982361
Q41,9521,636197624382155

Source: The Real Estate Association of Hamilton-Burlington

Annual Housing Starts

Data for the Hamilton Census Metropolitan area (CMA) reflect a decrease in housing starts in 2022. Between 2021 and 2022 there was a 15.7% decrease in housing starts within the Hamilton CMA. However, compared to 2019’s pre-pandemic benchmark, 2022’s housing starts reflect a 10.2% increase.

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Annual Housing Starts
Year201720182019202020212022
Annual Housing Starts 289336163204343141873530

Source: Statistics Canada. Table 34-10-0148-01

Click here for additional details on Hamilton’s Housing Starts

Average Daily Rate – ADR

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Average Daily Rate – ADR
201720182019202020212022
129.20142.03139.59117.73124.11152.00
67.4%67.1%67.8%41.7%53.1%69.8%

Values in $

Source: 2023 STR, Inc. / STR Global, LTD

Looking for specific data? Contact Adam Durrant, Business Development Analyst.