Toronto added more than 46,000 net jobs in 2019, including roughly 10,000 in the tech sector alone.
The city’s annual employment survey, which was released on Monday, shows that total employment grew by 3.1 per cent in 2019, which equates to a year-over year increase of 46,920 net jobs.
Full time jobs increased at a rate of 2.8 per cent (31,930) while part time jobs were up 4 per cent (14,980) and now account for nearly one out of four positions.
The overall increase was driven, in part, by the continued expansion of the teach industry.
The survey found that the tech sector now employs in excess of 60,000 people in Toronto, representing a 16.6 per cent increase from 2018 and an 84.6 per cent increase from 2014.
The survey also found an associated jump in tech businesses with more than 1,700 counted, which is an increase of 15.5 per cent from 2018 and 85.7 per cent from 2014.
The survey said that about two per cent of all businesses in the city are now tech businesses.
“It’s no secret that a key feature of Toronto’s economy in the 21st century has been the rise of our technology sector. The survey results reinforce this growth – with the total number of tech businesses almost doubling over the past five years and an incredible 85 per cent increase in jobs in the tech sector over the same time period,” Mayor John Tory said in a press release outlining the survey results. “I'm committed to continuing to grow our city's economy, and protecting Toronto's success.”
While there were significant job gains in the tech sector in 2019, other industries also performed well.
The city added 15,170 jobs in finance and insurance (9.3 per cent increase) and another 10,350 net jobs in health care and social assistance (5.6 per cent increase). There was also an additional 9,140 jobs in educational services (7.5 per cent increase).
The survey found that jobs continue to be clustered in the downtown core where 37 per cent of the workforce is located but there was also significant growth in the city’s designated employment areas, which now account for 27 per cent of all jobs and 92.3 per centre of its city’s manufacturing jobs.
The four civic centres, meanwhile, accounted for 5.2 per cent of all jobs but lagged behind the city-wide growth rate in 2019, partially as a result of a 1,150 net job loss in Scarborough Centre.
“Most of Scarborough’s employment decrease over the past year was in the Office category (-1,090 jobs or 9.5%). This decrease is due in part to the relocation or consolidation of jobs at locations in downtown, including firms such as Telus and SAP Canada (-550 jobs),” the survey pointed out.
The city has conducted an employment survey since 1983.
This year’s survey was based on responses from more than 76,000 businesses.
The unemployment for the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) of Toronto in Dec. 2019 was 5.5 per cent.
