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Home / Tools & Data / Hamilton by the Numbers

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 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.

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Business Counts
Micro (1-4 employees)9,102
Small (5-99 employees)6,308
Medium (100-499 employees)275
Large (500+ employees)29

Source: Canadian Business Counts, June 2021

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

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.

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Monthly Unemployment Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario
22-May22-Jun22-Jul22-Aug22-Sep22-Oct22-Nov22-Dec23-Jan23-Feb23-Mar
Hamilton5.24.94.85.15.25.14.44.14.55.25.5
Ontario5.65.15.66.45.45.254.55.45.15.4

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

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..

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Monthly Employment Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario
May-22Jun-22Jul-22Aug-22Sep-22Oct-22Nov-22Dec-22Jan-23Feb-23Mar-23
Hamilton62.162.662.662.562.362.362.762.862.361.460.6
Ontario62.862.862.562.261.261.761.861.961.461.661.5

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

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.

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Monthly Participation Rate (%) in the Hamilton CMA and Ontario
May-22Jun-22Jul-22Aug-22Sep-22Oct-22Nov-22Dec-22Jan-23Feb-23Mar-23
Hamilton65.565.865.865.965.765.765.665.465.364.864.2
Ontario66.566.266.266.464.765.165.164.864.964.965

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 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%.

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Annual Housing Starts
Year201620172018201920202021
Annual Housing Starts 326928933616320434314187

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
201420152016201720182019
110.48114.74119.36129.2146.99157.01

Values in $

Source: 2019 STR, Inc. / STR Global, LTD

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