CONSTRUCTION STATS
Workers Employed in Construction by Month January 1,444.9 February 1,438.3 March 1,435.9 April 1,465.1 May 1,456.5 June 1,449.1 July 1,474.1 August 1,472.0 September 1,481.8 October 1,460.5 November 1,465.3 December 1,482.3
2019
A selection of data reflecting trends in the Canadian construction industry
CONSTRUCTION LABOUR MARKET EKES OUT SMALL GAIN IN OCTOBER Another month dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic spelled another four weeks of little change for Canada’s construction labour market. The latest Labour Force Survey from Statistics Canada shows the industry added approximately 8,400 jobs during the month. The 0.6 per cent increase is a marginal improvement to minimal gains in both September and August, but employment remains down considerably year-over-year. In its assessment a month earlier, Statistics Canada said it expects a “long road” to recovery in construction. Following steep, pandemic-related declines in April and rehiring later this spring, employment in the industry now sits at roughly 1.378 million workers. Staffing levels remains about 7.5 per cent, or 112,000 jobs, lower than their February highs.
2020
January 1,497.6 February 1,489.7 March 1,487.5 April 1,173.9 May 1,247.6 June 1,330.8 July 1,364.3 August 1,368.8 September 1,369.4 October 1,377.8 In thousands of workers, seasonally adjusted SOURCE: STATISTICS CANADA
INVESTMENT IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION SLIDES IN SEPTEMBER ON NON-RESIDENTIAL DECLINES An 8.5 per cent drop in non-residential spending drove overall building construction investment lower in September. The monthly figures, the latest for which data is available, mark the third-straight month of decline for the non-residential market, Statistics Canada said. Spending in all three components – commercial, industrial and institutional – fell compared to August. Residential spending, on the other hand, climbed slightly. Investment in the segment rose 1.6 per cent, led by gains in multi-unit projects.
TORONTO ADDS TO TALLY DESPITE COVID-19, STAYS WELL ATOP RIVAL CITIES IN LATEST CRANE COUNT Toronto remains the runaway leader in the latest North American Crane Index from consulting firm Rider Levett Bucknall. Canada’s most populous city added three cranes since the previous count earlier this year, in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced contractors to adjust to heightened safety standards and a less optimistic building market. With 124 cranes jutting upward across the city, Toronto accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the North American total. A rough measure of construction activity, RLB’s Crane Index tracks tower cranes in most of the largest cities in Canada and the U.S. — though several large urban centres are not taken into account.
CRANE COUNT - FALL 2020 City
Number of cranes
Toronto 124 Seattle 43 Los Angeles
41
Washington DC
38
Calgary 34
RESIDENTIAL
+1.6%
COMMERCIAL
-11.3%
Portland 27 San Francisco
24
Denver 18 Phoenix 16 Chicago 14 Boston 12 New York
INDUSTRIAL
-5.6%
INSTITUTIONAL
-3.7%
Las Vegas
4
Several major North American cities are not included in the index SOURCE: RIDER LEVETT BUCKNALL
10 / DECEMBER 2020
12
Honolulu 8
