Look for our next weekly newsletter on November 17, 2016.
What does WPH believe?
Business, Labour & Community: Planning for Prosperity!
Knowledge is Power: Read WPH's 2016 Labour Market Plan Update to uncover current trends in Hamilton's economy
Workforce Planning Hamilton's recently released 2016 Labour Market Plan Update provides a wealth of up-to-date information on current trends in our labour market, and proposes a refreshed plan for the key priority areas for action that were established in our multi-year plan in 2014.
The plan includes information on Hamilton's economy, workforce trends, a profile of job seekers, strategic priorities and action plan, and what we learned from employer consultations.
There are both positives and negatives in Hamilton's economy.
Positives include:
The unemployment rate continues to fall
The number of employed people is also growing
Manufacturing is growing
LRT will create job opportunities in future
Our economy is projected to grow faster
But there are also negatives:
⦁ Recent upswing in unemployment rate
⦁ Job postings have declined
⦁ Employers with the intention to hire in 2016 decreased relative to 2015
Hamilton news outlets are full of success stories of entrepreneurs starting businesses in Hamilton. With over 2/3rds of businesses in Hamilton being businesses without employees, it's an indication that a growing part of our economy is involved in self-employment.
Small businesses dominate our local economy, with 86.8% of businesses having less than 20 people, and 95% having less than 50 people.