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Greater Niagara Chamber of Commerce

Home / Daily Update  /  Daily Update: August 9 2024

Daily Update: August 9 2024

August 9, 2024 | Daily Update

In this edition:

  • Niagara unemployment rate settles back to 8%, higher than national/provincial averages
  • Pierre Poilievre pitches his ‘common-sense’ plan to Niagara workers
  • Average Canadian rent tops $2,200 in July even as pace of growth slows: report
  • Upper Canada Heritage Trail committee asks for $100K to complete section
  • Mayors call on Ford government to appoint single ministry to fight homelessness, addictions
  • Advanced wood in construction plan praised by stakeholders
  • Focus on Technology

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Photo credit: stokkete / Adobe Stock

Niagara unemployment rate settles back to 8%, higher than national/provincial averages

Niagara’s unemployment rate fell back to 8% in July, Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey data revealed today, from 8.4% in June. Regional unemployment remains noticeably higher than in Canada (6.3%) and Ontario (6.8%). Although Niagara’s tourism-heavy economy typically peaks over the summer, these data are seasonally adjusted, and this should not be factored in. Niagara’s participation rate increased again, now at 61.4%, and the employment rate also continued its upward trend, hitting 56.4% in June. This indicates that more people in Niagara are seeking and finding work.

Nationally, employment fell in wholesale and retail trade as well as in finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing. Employment increased in public administration, transportation and warehousing, and utilities.

In a statement, Ontario’s Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli highlighted that employment in the province had increased for seven consecutive months, adding 22,000 jobs in July.

Click here to read more.

Click here to access Statistics Canada’s interactive Labour Force Survey app.

Photo credit: Julie Jocsak / St. Catharines Standard

Pierre Poilievre pitches his ‘common-sense’ plan to Niagara workers

Pierre Poilievre is pointing to a significant housing cost difference on both sides of the international border in Niagara as an example of the housing crisis in Canada.

“Housing costs have literally doubled — in this region closer to tripled,” the federal Conservative leader said after a tour of Ontario Shipyards in St. Catharines on Thursday.

Click here to read more.

Photo credit: Looker_Studio / Adobe Stock

Average Canadian rent tops $2,200 in July even as pace of growth slows: report

Rents are still rising in Canada but the year-over-year pace of growth has slowed, according to a new report.

The data from Rentals.ca and Urbanation says asking rents for all residential property types averaged $2,201 in July, up 5.9% from last year.

The year-over-year increase is the slowest rise since early 2022, while more recently, growth has often topped 10%, the report said.

Click here to read more.

Photo credit: Upper Canada Heritage Trail

Upper Canada Heritage Trail committee asks for $100K to complete section

It will cost more than $200,000 to complete the next phase of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Upper Canada Heritage Trail.

Trail committee chair Rick Meloen told town councillors during their July 30 meeting that to continue the trail from Line 3 to Line 9 it will cost about $210,000, money the volunteer group doesn’t have.

“If you build it, they will come,” said fellow committee member Tony Chisholm.

Click here to read more.

Photo credit: SearchingForSatori / Adobe Stock

Mayors call on Ford government to appoint single ministry to fight homelessness, addictions

Beset by thousands sleeping on their streets with no end in sight, big city mayors are calling for more leadership from Ontario — including a single point of contact and more stable funding.

Municipalities say they’re having to spend millions dealing with homelessness and addiction, which they have long argued fall under the province’s responsibility as health and social issues.

Click here to read more.

Photo credit: Friends Stock / Adobe Stock

Advanced wood in construction plan praised by stakeholders

Stakeholders in Ontario’s wood construction sector are praising the provincial government’s proposed action plan for the industry as comprehensive, far-reaching and a strong next step towards creating incentives for expansion.

The province’s draft Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan was launched for public input on July 30 as part of an event at the Element5 mass timber manufacturing plant in St. Thomas, Ont. The plan is said to target growth in prefabricated and modular wooden building materials and more broadly the advancement of the diverse players in the field.

Click here to read more.

Did you know?

The Niagara Treaty requires that a minimum of 100,000 cu ft/s of water must flow over Niagara Falls during the daytime in the tourist season.

Focus on Technology

Intel has lost Wall Street’s patience as headwinds keep mounting

After another catastrophic earnings report, Intel Corp. bulls are increasingly few and far between on Wall Street.

Intel shares have shed nearly a third of their value since the firm gave a grim growth forecast, announced plans to slash 15,000 jobs, and suspended a dividend that has been in place since 1992. The report was the latest in a series of discouraging updates, and underlined the myriad headwinds facing the chipmaker as it struggles to execute an ambitious turnaround and compete in the artificial intelligence era.

The stock has been downgraded at multiple firms in the wake of the earnings — making it the least-liked semiconductor company among analysts.

Click here to read more.

Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.

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