Northeast Ontario Labour Market Monitor: Service Canada January, 2010

The Labour Market Monitor is an overview of the Northeast Ontario Economic Region including the census division of Greater Sudbury and the districts of Nipissing, Parry Sound, Manitoulin, Sudbury, Timiskaming, Cochrane and Algoma. This monthly report is produced by the local area Labour Market Information Analyst. For further information contact: Raymond Runninng.

Labour Force Trends

In the Northeast Ontario economic region, employment declined by 11,500 from January 2009 to January 2010, with all the job losses occurring in full-time work. Declining employment caused the employment rate to drop by 2.6 percentage points to 53.5%, the lowest rate in Ontario. The labour force contracted less than the drop in employment which caused the number of unemployed people to rise by 8,000 from January 2009 to January 2010.  Consequently, the unemployment rate increased in that period from 6.1% to 9.2% which is one of the highest rates for all 11 economic regions in Ontario. Over this 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

Accommodation and food services

The Delta Sault Ste. Marie Waterfront Hotel and Conference Centre opened in January. It was previously branded as a Holiday Inn. Closed for renovations since October 2009, more than $6 million was spent on upgrades. All 50 employees have returned to work.

The Don Cherry’s restaurant in Sudbury closed in early January. It reopened at the end of the month as an independent business. M.I.C. (Made in Canada) Canadian Eatery & Whisky Pub is owned by two Sudbury natives. The restaurant has 60 staff, with plans to hire 20 more.

Construction

Work has begun on the former St. Mary’s Manor in Timmins. More than $16 million will be spent turning the old hospital into a senior’s residence. When completed, the new Autumnwood Mature Lifestyles Communities will have 95 retirement units along with 24 independent living apartments. The project is expected to create 50 to 80 jobs over 12 to 14 months.

Monteith Construction of Timmins was awarded a $9.7-million contract for work at the Timmins and District Hospital. Renovations of the renal dialysis unit will start in February 2010 and be completed by January 2011.

Cy-Rheault Construction of Timmins was awarded a $13.25-million contract to build a new school in Sault Ste. Marie. Construction of the new F.H. Clergue French immersion elementary school is scheduled to start March 2010.

École Secondaire Catholique Algonquin in North Bay received $3 million for renovations. Construction will start in the spring of 2010 and be done by the fall of 2011. The school will house grade 7 to 12 students when complete.

The Sault Ste. Marie YMCA received $3 million from the two senior levels of government. The money will be spent on upgrades to the building. Construction is expected to start in early 2010.

Close to $800,000 was given to eight not-for-profit organizations in the North Bay area. The money, from the provincial government, will be used for repairs and upgrades. Community Living Mattawa and Community Living North Bay will each receive close to $250,000 to cover construction costs. The Greater Sudbury area will receive almost $400,000 to help with upgrades to social service organizations. More than $100,000 in funding will go to two Sault Ste. Marie social service groups.

The Huron Superior Catholic District School Board received almost $4 million to build a new school in Espanola. The Sacred Heart Catholic School was too expensive to repair so a new school will be built.

Forestry, mining, oil and gas

Workers at the Tembec mill in Kapuskasing voted to accept a 10% cut in wages. The union has called the cut a “forgivable bridge loan” which will last until December 31, 2010.

A community coalition made up of politicians, union leaders, business groups and Timmins residents has been formed. The goal of the coalition is to convince Xstrata Copper Canada to keep its Timmins smelter operating. If the Kidd Creek Met Site closes, 670 direct jobs will be lost on May 1, 2010. An Xstrata spokesperson had confirmed that they are moving the work to a smelter in Quebec.

Strong gold prices continue to drive exploration in the northeast. Northgate Minerals has committed a further $2.6 million to its Young-Davidson site in Matchewan. As a result, they are putting the mine into production in 2012. Close to 600 jobs will be created during the construction phase. There will be 275 jobs when the mine is in opened. Northgate estimates they will produce 180,000 ounces of gold per year at the Young-Davidson mine.

Goldcorp announced it will spend between $100 and $200 million over the next four years at its Porcupine mine. A new shaft will be created, with a depth of 2,400 metres. This will extend the life of the mine by more than a decade. The Hoyle Pond Gold mine presently employs 250 workers.

Detour gold is in the midst of a mine feasibility study for its property northeast of Cochrane. If recent gold finds are confirmed, the company plans to start construction of an operational mine in the summer of 2010. The mine would open in 2012.

Armistice Resources announced plans to start full gold production in late 2010 or early 2011. The Armistice McGarry Mine is located outside of Kirkland Lake.

The labour dispute at Vale Inco continues. More than 3,000 members of USWA Local 6500 have been on strike since July 13, 2009. Close to 1,200 other employees of the company, management staff and members of USWA Local 2020, continue to work. The company has resumed partial production at the Coleman Mine, the Garson Mine and at Clarabelle Mill. Vale Inco has also resumed production at the Copper Cliff Smelter Complex. Only one of the two furnaces at the smelter was started up.

FNX Mining Company Inc. announced the discovery of a high grade deposit of nickel, copper and precious metals. As a result the company will spend $7.2 million on further exploration at its Sudbury area mine. About 450 people work at FNX in Greater Sudbury.

Information, culture and recreation

The Scotties Tournament of Hearts was held in Sault Ste. Marie. The Canadian Women’s Curling Championships began on January 30th. The winner will represent Canada at the Ford World Women’s Championship. The economic spin-off to Sault Ste. Marie is expected to top $9 million.

An eight-part CBC mini-series shot in North Bay over the summer began airing this January. More than 100 residents found temporary work as extras in the Kids in the Hall production. At one point, more than 1,000 people were required for a scene at a local arena. The city received over $2 million in economic benefits due to the filming.

The International Ice Hockey Federation World Under 17 Championships wrapped up in January. Close to 2,000 people visited Timmins for the tournament. The economic impact is thought to be close to $2 million.

Manufacturing

Essar Steel Algoma Inc. is seeking 40 more apprentices for its Sault Ste. Marie steel plant. Bricklayers, crane repair technicians and electrical maintenance technician seats are available. This is in addition to the 82 apprenticeships already at Essar. The company recently hired 35 new trades people and is looking for another 75, over and above the announced apprenticeships.

Trade

A new 190,000 square-foot Wal-Mart Supercentre opened in Sudbury. More than 250 full and part-time employees were hired when the store opened in January.

A 45,000 square-foot addition to the Sault Ste. Marie Wal-Mart Supercentre opened in January. Fifty-five new jobs were added. The store now has 320 employees.

A 25,000 square-foot addition to the Temiskaming Shores Wal-Mart Supercentre also opened in January. The 50 new jobs brought the total workforce to over 215.

A new Shopper’s Drug Mart opened in North Bay in January. The 13,500 square-foot building is located in the city’s north end, close to the new hospital. It will have about 50 full and part-time staff.

Transportation and warehousing

Beginning March 31, 2010, Porter Airlines will offer one daily roundtrip flight from Sudbury to Toronto. The flights will land in downtown Toronto at the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport.

Wasaya Airlines announced it will be closing its base in Timmins. Six people will be out of work on February 1, 2010. The company blames the recent economic downturn.

Utilities

A 20-megawatt solar farm, to be built in Sault Ste. Marie has been given final approval. The $100-million project will provide enough energy to power 8,000 homes. Construction should be complete by August 2010. Over 45 construction jobs will be created. Pod Generating Group is finalizing plans for a further 40 MW of solar power in the city.

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.