Welcome to Guelph, Ont., pop. 121,688 and Canada’s jobs powerhouse
The folks at the Vienna Restaurant in downtown Guelph, Ont., were too to busy to talk to me when I phoned around brunch time yesterday to get some information about the diner, asking me nicely to call back later.
I could tell from the background noise alone.
But that told me a lot about what I already suspected were the good times in this small city about an hour away from Toronto, depending on how fast you drive.
It’s a cute city, crime is low and there are a lot of university kids. And, notably, it leads the country on the jobs front.
Guelph has generally had lower unemployment. But a rejigged ranking of Canadian cities by BMO Nesbitt Burns puts it in top spot, with jobs growth of more than 9 per cent in December compared with a year earlier, an employment rate of 72 per cent that’s the best in the country, and a jobless level that is among the lowest and now down almost a full percentage point from late 2014.
“Guelph tops the list with robust job growth, population inflows, a puny 4.2-per-cent jobless rate and the highest share of the population that is working,” BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic noted as he released the rankings after Statistics Canada’s latest labour market report on Friday.
As The Globe and Mail’s Rachelle Younglai reports, that national report showed Canada churned out almost 23,000 new jobs last month, though unemployment held firm at an uncomfortably high 7.1 per cent.
Ontario gained about 35,000 jobs, and its unemployment rate eased to 6.7 per cent.
Welcome to Guelph, Ont., pop. 121,688 and Canada’s jobs powerhouse - The Globe and Mail
The folks at the Vienna Restaurant in downtown Guelph, Ont., were too to busy to talk to me when I phoned around brunch time yesterday to get some information about the diner, asking me nicely to call back later.
I could tell from the background noise alone.
But that told me a lot about what I already suspected were the good times in this small city about an hour away from Toronto, depending on how fast you drive.
It’s a cute city, crime is low and there are a lot of university kids. And, notably, it leads the country on the jobs front.
Guelph has generally had lower unemployment. But a rejigged ranking of Canadian cities by BMO Nesbitt Burns puts it in top spot, with jobs growth of more than 9 per cent in December compared with a year earlier, an employment rate of 72 per cent that’s the best in the country, and a jobless level that is among the lowest and now down almost a full percentage point from late 2014.
“Guelph tops the list with robust job growth, population inflows, a puny 4.2-per-cent jobless rate and the highest share of the population that is working,” BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic noted as he released the rankings after Statistics Canada’s latest labour market report on Friday.
As The Globe and Mail’s Rachelle Younglai reports, that national report showed Canada churned out almost 23,000 new jobs last month, though unemployment held firm at an uncomfortably high 7.1 per cent.
Ontario gained about 35,000 jobs, and its unemployment rate eased to 6.7 per cent.
Welcome to Guelph, Ont., pop. 121,688 and Canada’s jobs powerhouse - The Globe and Mail