4/28/2013 9:32:38 AM

April 22, 2013
The City of Toronto's latest Economic Dashboard report, presented at today's meeting of the Economic Development Committee, showed that 1,331,600 people were employed in full-time and part-time positions in the city in 2012, the highest total employment number since 1990.

"We're turning the tide on decades of job loss and that's great news for people in Toronto," said Mayor Rob Ford. "Since December 2010, we've been focused on creating conditions to boost employment in our City - and that focus is paying off. It's been 22 years since the last time more people were employed in Toronto."

"Toronto is now experiencing regular job growth and last year, for the first time in five years, that growth also occurred across the City," said Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the Economic Development Committee.

According to the City of Toronto's annual employment survey bulletin, Toronto Employment Survey 2012, total jobs in employment establishments in the City of Toronto increased by 14,300 jobs in 2012. Toronto has experienced positive job growth for the third year in a row (2010-2012), with 38,400 jobs created during that time.

The city experienced a 1.1 per cent increase in employment this past year, exceeding Canada's growth of 1 per cent and Ontario's growth of 0.4 per cent. Most of the net growth in jobs in the city is in office jobs, which accounted for 72 per cent of the net increase in 2012.

In the last five years (2007-2012) the majority of the net new jobs created in the City of Toronto were created in downtown and in four business centres, located near the Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough Civic Centres as well as in the Yonge-Eglinton area.

In the last year (2011 to 2012) the city returned to a more balanced growth picture with employment increasing in downtown, in the four business centres and in a number of the City's 22 employment districts. In the last 10 years, the total number of jobs in Toronto employment establishments increased by 68,300.

For 30 years, the City of Toronto's Planning Division has collected data on every employment establishment (now more than 74,600 locations) in the city each summer. Survey results are available at: http://www.toronto.ca/demographics/surveys.htm

The Economic Dashboard reports on Toronto's economy from international, national and local perspectives, based on statistics compiled from multiple sources. The Economic Dashboard and additional economic indicator information for the City of Toronto is available at: http://www.toronto.ca/economicindicators.

City Council has endorsed a new economic growth plan called Collaborating for
Competitiveness - A Strategic Plan to Accelerate Economic Growth and Job Creation in
Toronto. This plan sets targets for improving the quality of jobs in Toronto and commits to
harmonizing the policies/activities of the City of Toronto and its agencies to help create a
more attractive climate for business and investment. More information about the plan and
how the City helps business in Toronto is available at: http://www.toronto.ca/business.