Toronto’s Regional Index: 83.1 percent
The Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) reports another Index increase for the month of October (+1.7) following last month’s creation of 10,200 jobs, adding to the 70,100 jobs created over the four previous periods. Toronto’s employment status had dropped to “fair” in December 2004. This CMA has since reported a net gain of 79,300 jobs (+2.9). Over the past twelve months, Toronto made a net gain of 70,000 jobs with a slightly lower growth rate (+2.6). This month’s Index ranks 24th compared to 96 months with lesser Indices over the past ten years. From September 1995 to September 2005, employment in Toronto grew by 32 percent.

Ottawa-Gatineau’s Regional Index: 71.7 percent
The 1,000 new jobs created over the past month were not enough to prevent a slight drop in Ottawa-Gatineau’s Jobboom Index for October (-0.3). The drop is largely influenced by historically weak job creation figures for this period, over the past ten years. The region also recently lost 7,100 jobs, with an Index falling below 80 percent in July, for the first time since November 2004. Year-to-date net job creation is negative (−11,300) with a growth rate of −1.8 percent. Over the past twelve months, employment growth for the Ottawa-Gatineau region has been close to zero (0.1). This month’s Index ranks 52nd out of 120, leaving 68 months with lesser Indices over the past 10 years. Over the same period, employment in the region grew by 25 percent.

Important Note: Jobboom Index forecasts have been adjusted to reflect changes to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey (LFS) based on data from the 2001 Census. These changes were published in February 2005.