London Labour Market Monitor: Service Canada, January 2010

The Labour Market Monitor is an overview of the London Economic Region including Oxford, Elgin and Middlesex counties. This monthly report is produced by the local area Labour Market Information Analyst. For further information contact: Mary Fox.

Labour Force Trends/Survey

From January 2009 to January 2010, the labour force in the London economic region decreased slightly by 2,000 as fewer people were working or searching for work. Net employment in the London economic region fell by 2,500. All job losses came from full-time employment (-6,900) partially offset by part-time employment gains (+4,400). The number of unemployed people increased marginally from January 2009, causing the unemployment rate to rise slightly from 8.2% to 8.4%. Over the same period, the provincial unemployment rate rose from 7.2% to 8.7%. For more information, please visit the Statistics Canada website.

Labour Market News by Industry

Accommodations and Food Services

Several new restaurants opened in London:

• True Taco
• The Coates of Arms Restaurant & Pub
• Cora Restaurant (second location)
• Gig’s Grillhouse (35 employees)
• Gozen Bistro and Grill (second location)

The 2010 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships took place in London in January. The event is expected to bring up to $4 million in direct sales to local businesses.

Agriculture

The Ontario Cattle Feeders Association held its annual conference in London. Cattle farmers have faced challenges in the past including export restrictions, increased imports and Mad Cow disease (BSE). Farmers are now losing up to $400 per animal. Ontario currently has about 390,000 cattle, down from 500,000 in 2002. The Association is focusing on attracting and retaining young people to the industry, in which businesses can be costly to establish.

Arts, Entertainment and Recreation

The Nite Owl, a new rock club, opened in downtown London.

Business, Building and Other Support Services

TeleTech, a London call centre is laying off 120 workers. The job losses are a result of the economic downturn and the loss of business from one of its clients. Workers earn between $11 and $14 per hour.

Construction

Despite an improvement in December, total housing starts for 2009 fell by 9% compared to a year earlier in the London area. About 180 housing starts were recorded in December, up from 56 starts in December 2008. Overall housing starts in 2009 totalled 2,168 compared to 2,385 in 2008.

Construction of a $10-million sewage system for Mount Brydges will start in the spring of 2010. The first stage of the service will extend to almost 200 properties and should be completed a year later.  The cost of the project will be paid by federal-provincial stimulus funding, property owners and municipal reserves.

The London Optimists Sports Centre will be moving to a new facility on Rectory Street. The $7.5-million complex will include indoor soccer, football and lacrosse fields. The new centre should be open in early 2011.

The Port Stanley arena will undergo $920,000 in upgrades in the summer of 2010. The project is funded under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) program and the Ontario Recreation Program (Ontario REC).

The Embro West Zorra Community Centre will receive $475,000 from the federal and provincial governments for major upgrades. The funding is provided under the federal Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RInC) Program and the provincial Ontario Recreation Program (Ontario REC). The community must raise $500,000 in matching funds for the project which is expected to go to tender in January 2010.

Educational Services

Hydro One is donating $2.5 million to the University of Western Ontario to support a chair in power systems engineering, research and student scholarships. The industry is facing a shortage of qualified workers capable of operating power grids.

Fanshawe College is looking for space in downtown London to expand its arts-related programs. The programs would include technical theatrical, performing and culinary arts. In the future, the programs would partner with professional arts organizations such as the Grand Theatre and Orchestra London.

Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Leasing

About 470 homes sold in the London-St. Thomas area in January 2010. A year ago, the real estate market was slow due to the downturn in the economy. Just over 300 homes sold in January of 2009. January 2010 sales are slightly higher than the 10-year average of 450 for the month.

Health Care and Social Services

PeopleCare is building a new 160-bed long-term care residence in London. The facility will open in early May 2010. The company held a career fair in January for 200 full-time and part-time workers. The company is looking to hire nurses, cooks, personal support workers, office staff and managers. The online application process can be found at www.peoplecare.ca.

Nurse Next Door, a new health-care franchise, is opening in London. The company provides a variety of health care services to seniors in their homes.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) released a new report Regulated Nurses: Canadian Trends, 2004 to 2008. The report provides a comprehensive overview of regulated nurses in Canada. The findings include the following:

• About 341,400 nurses work in Canada, an 8.3% increase between 2004 and 2008;
• In Ontario, about 95% of registered nurses and licensed practical nurses are women;
• The average age for regulated nurses is almost 46 years;
• Close to 40% are over the age of 50 years;
• There are more than 7,800 registered and licensed practical nurses providing direct care to patients working in the Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford area.

The complete report is available at www.cihi.ca.

Manufacturing - Automotive

Toyota stopped production of vehicles at its Canadian and U.S. plants due to a gas pedal recall notice. The Toyota plant in Woodstock will shut down production during the first week of February. About 1,200 workers at the plant will perform maintenance tasks, training and other jobs. The company has also suspended sales of some vehicles.

Area auto parts manufacturers may be impacted by the one-week Toyota shutdown. Some suppliers could remain open and increase inventories, others may offer training to workers and some may close. The following local parts suppliers will be affected: Toyota Tsusho, Mi-Tech Steel, Toyota Boshoku, Transfreight, Maple Automotive, Green Metals and Vuteq in Woodstock, along with Takumi Stamping in St. Thomas.

Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited officials met with local politicians to confirm the closing of the St. Thomas assembly plant in 2011. The company has agreed to help market the plant to potential buyers.

Manufacturing - General

A number of new job-creation projects are planned for London. They include:

• Brose North America is investing $7 million at its auto parts plant creating 10 new skilled jobs.
• California-based NDS Americas is opening in the downtown area creating 30 jobs.
• German Solar is investing $1 million to manufacture rooftop solar equipment. About 20 new jobs will be created.

Canadian Biofuel is opening the largest biofuel operation in Ontario near Springford. The $4-million plant will use crops grown to produce energy pellets and briquettes. About 15 to 20 people will work at the plant. Another 20 to 25 positions will also be created to transport the product.

London Machinery Inc. opened their new $13-million plant in London. The company makes concrete mixing units that are mounted on trucks. As a result of the slowdown in construction and lack of orders, about half of the company’s 140 workers are on layoff. The company is confident that they will be called back once construction improves.

Glendale Recreational Vehicles in Strathroy has filed for bankruptcy. The company laid off over 100 hourly workers last November. About 40 salaried staff remain at the plant. The economic slowdown, a strong Canadian dollar and rising fuel prices are the reasons for the bankruptcy.

KML Windows Inc. is closing its London facility and consolidating operations at its Strathroy plant. The custom-made window and door manufacturer will employ about 100 workers at the Strathroy location.

Other Services

Fresh Defense Mobile, which opened in London, sanitizes and cleans sports equipment.

All About You Hair & Esthetic Studio opened in Woodstock.

Transportation and Warehousing

L.E. Walker Transport Ltd. in St. Thomas has filed for bankruptcy. The trucking firm was purchased by Guelph-based MacKinnon Transport Inc. in 2009. Ten office staff from St. Thomas will relocate to the Guelph operation. The Guelph location has also hired about 75 truck drivers. Another 30 drivers were laid off due to a shortage of work.

Wholesale and Retail Trade

Several retail shops recently opened on Dundas Street including Village Curiosities, Wisdom Teashop and Titus Boutique, a new pet store.

Wal-Mart opened its expanded grocery section in Woodstock. About 80 new employees were hired to work in the new department.

Other Labour Market News

The Conference Board of Canada released the Winter 2010 Metropolitan Outlook for the London Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). The report shows that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the area fell by 4.0% in 2009. In 2008, GDP fell by 1.3%. Some sectors saw losses in output in 2009 including manufacturing (-14.1%), construction (-6.5%) and wholesale and retail trade (-5.7%). The report suggests that GDP will grow by 2.5% in 2010, due mainly to improvements in the manufacturing sector. From 2011-2014, GDP is predicted to improve by 3.2%. Weak population growth in the area is expected to lead to lower economic growth. Media updates on the local economy can be found at www.lfpress.com.

Note: In preparing this bulletin, Service Canada has taken care to provide clients with labour market information from reliable sources that is timely and accurate at the time of publication. Since labour market conditions are dynamic, some of the information presented here may have changed since the bulletin was published. Readers are encouraged to also refer to other sources for additional information on the local economy and labour market. Information contained in this bulletin does not necessarily reflect official policies of Service Canada.