Hamilton by the Numbers

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.

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.

Business Counts

City of Hamilton (CSD)

As of June 2021, Hamilton was home to approximately 15,714 businesses (including registered charities and not-for-profit organizations). Approximately 57.9% of Hamilton’s employers employ fewer than four people, and 76.2% of employers employ nine or fewer people. There are approximately 36,463 businesses operating without employees (i.e. establishments providing self-employment) in Hamilton.

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

Hamilton’s unemployment rate climbed from 4.5% to 5.5% during the first quarter (January to March) of 2023. During the same three months, Ontario’s unemployment rate fell from 5.4% in January 2023 to 5.1% in February 2023 before returning to 5.4% in March 2023.

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

Hamilton’s employment declined from 62.3% in January 2023 to 60.6% in March 2023. Ontario’s employment rate increased marginally from 61.4% in January 2023 to 61.5% in March 2023..

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

Hamilton’s participation rate also declined across the first quarter of 2023, falling from 65.3% in January 2023 to 64.2% by March 2023. In Ontario, the participation rate climbed slightly from 64.9% in January 2023 to 65.0% by March 2023. It is important to note in these data that the Hamilton CMA’s figures are the product of a 3-month average. As a result, the impacts of employment gains or losses are often delayed compared to the provincial trend.

Annual Real Estate Sales

(# of units)

Annual Housing Starts

Data for the Hamilton Census Metropolitan area (CMA) reflect an increase in housing starts in 2021, despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2020 and 2021 there was a 22.0% increase in housing starts within the Hamilton CMA. Compared to 2017, 2021’s housing starts increased by 44.7%.

Average Daily Rate – ADR