The Canadian real estate industry is seeing growth, just not everywhere last month. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (FIRE) industry made job gains in December. Canada as a whole squeezed out monthly gains, but two of the biggest markets weren’t so lucky – Ontario and British Columbia.
The FIRE Industry Is Seeing Massive Growth Across Canada
Canada’s FIRE industry job numbers inched higher, but are up big from last year. The industry employed 1,240,900 in December, up 1,400 (0.11%) jobs from the month before. This works out to an increase of 74,800 (6.41%) jobs in the industry. The monthly gain was a little low, but this is still very substantial growth from last year. Annual growth is over 3x higher than the general employment market.
Canadian FIRE Employment
The number of people employed in Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (FIRE) across Canada.
Source: Stat Can, Better Dwelling.
Ontario Sheds FIRE Jobs In December, But Overall Still Very Large Growth
Ontario didn’t see a bump last month, but represents the lion’s share of growth overall. The province’s industry employed 599,900 in December, down 6,400 (1.1%) jobs from the month before. This works out to an increase of 39.6 (7.1%) from the same month last year. In case you missed that, over half of all FIRE jobs in Canada were created in Ontario.
Ontario FIRE Employment
The number of people employed in Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (FIRE) across Ontario.
Source: Stat Can, Better Dwelling.
British Columbia FIRE Jobs Fall 4% In December
British Columbia’s FIRE industry was hit disproportionately hard last month. The industry employed 163,000 in December, down 6,800 (4.0%) jobs from the month before. Compared to last year, this represents an increase of 11,700 (7.7%) jobs in the industry. The annual gain is larger than most regions, but the end of year monthly decline was enough to take out a third of the gains for the year.
British Columbia FIRE Employment
The number of people employed in Finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (FIRE) across British Columbia.
Source: Stat Can, Better Dwelling.
Canada’s FIRE industry is still seeing growth, but there are a few concerns to watch. The country inched out a gain last month, but Ontario and British Columbia showed large declines. Considering Ontario represented half of all growth for the year, this can materialize into broader weakness.
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Funny how in BC it went straight up for two whole years, before starting to become a little more rocky.
Most banks are saying they’re looking to restructure next year, so I’m guessing more layoffs to come.