Real Estate and Financial Sectors Pave the Way to Recovery
As housing sales and prices increase, so have staffing numbers throughout Canada. Veteran real estate agents throughout Ottawa have been riding the wave of recovery as the effects of the recession have slowly dissipated. The high number of real estate agents actually tells a lot about the market because without sales there is no money for agents. And no money usually causes less successful agents to get out of the business and look for something else, but this hasn't been the case.
At the end of the 80s housing boom there was a similar downturn at the beginning of the 90s but many experienced real estate agents say that our current economic woes can't be compared to those of 2 decades ago. Despite a quiet start to 2009, house sales and prices have improved steadily and the number of realtors has also increased.
While some cynics are quick to point out that the Ottawa market does not represent most communities in Canada, namely because of stable employment offered by the federal government, few can argue with numbers that suggest recovery pretty much across the board. In fact, most markets in Canada weathered the storm quite well and have reached new highs or are at the very least stable.
The strength of real estate markets has been mirrored by improving employment numbers too. In Canada, real estate employment increased a staggering 35 per cent to 71,000 jobs since October 2008, the peak for the Canadian job market before the recession. Alternatively, employment numbers in other sectors have not fared well. Overall employment in Canada has dropped by 2.3 per cent in the same time span meaning we have lost more than 400,000 jobs as a result of economic concerns.
A quick comparison: in all of 2009, employment in Canada fell 1.4 percent while jobs in real estate rose nearly 14 per cent. This is an incredible difference that can be attributed to a surprisingly strong real estate market. Historically low interest rates, falling prices, and the resulting confidence in the market are all major factors with regards to these employment figures.
As low interest rates continue to be the norm, the benefits are still being reaped in real estate. Moreover, the Canadian public believes that the economic downturn is nearly over and has more confidence to buy but also want to buy before rates start increasing.
But the real estate market alone is not the only contributing factor to increased real estate employment. Indeed, a strong real estate market has driven activity and employment in other industries like finance and insurance as well. Due to government stimulus spending, employment figures have been strengthened in many areas.
The services sector has been holding strong while the goods producing sector has struggled a bit more. Though this is not surprising; we don't normally expect economic recovery to be driven by manufacturing or construction industries. As seen in payroll statistics, the most serious 12-month job losses were seen in the mining and oil and gas industries where employment nose-dived more than 18 per cent. The forestry industry has been hit hard losing 16 per cent of jobs and the manufacturing sector saw a drop of 12 per cent.
While there have also been losses in the construction industry, the outlook is less bleak. Approximately 5 per cent of jobs in construction were lost during the recession, the strength of the real estate industry suggests that construction will rebound quickly. Likewise, the moderate drop in employment in construction suggests that the quick recovery of the real estate industry ameliorated any effect on construction jobs. Moreover, expected stimulus spending on infrastructure has kept the construction industry from suffering too much.
The construction industry had been on a downward trend, but a shift is already apparent. Government planning and money with regards to infrastructure means that the industry will likely remain strong for the next 10 years or more.
Nevertheless, the real bright spot for jobs in Canada has been real estate, insurance, and banking. Employers in these sectors are more confident about an increasing payroll at the beginning of 2010. Other industries where steady hiring is expected include transportation, public utilities, public administration, and retail.
On the whole, the job market in Canada looks to be improving, albeit slowly. A survey of approximately 2000 Canadian employers suggests a slightly improved hiring climate for the beginning of 2010. However, some experts are cautious in their optimism an expect jobs recovery from the recession will be much weaker than the recovery from the previous recession. The end of the 90s recession was supported by the dot com boom and we're not likely to see these kinds of benefits from other industries.
Still, there appears to be a solid demand for skilled workers, especially in information technology, and companies are driven to be more productive. This could support job growth when organizations look for high-tech solutions to their problems.
At the end of the 80s housing boom there was a similar downturn at the beginning of the 90s but many experienced real estate agents say that our current economic woes can't be compared to those of 2 decades ago. Despite a quiet start to 2009, house sales and prices have improved steadily and the number of realtors has also increased.
While some cynics are quick to point out that the Ottawa market does not represent most communities in Canada, namely because of stable employment offered by the federal government, few can argue with numbers that suggest recovery pretty much across the board. In fact, most markets in Canada weathered the storm quite well and have reached new highs or are at the very least stable.
The strength of real estate markets has been mirrored by improving employment numbers too. In Canada, real estate employment increased a staggering 35 per cent to 71,000 jobs since October 2008, the peak for the Canadian job market before the recession. Alternatively, employment numbers in other sectors have not fared well. Overall employment in Canada has dropped by 2.3 per cent in the same time span meaning we have lost more than 400,000 jobs as a result of economic concerns.
A quick comparison: in all of 2009, employment in Canada fell 1.4 percent while jobs in real estate rose nearly 14 per cent. This is an incredible difference that can be attributed to a surprisingly strong real estate market. Historically low interest rates, falling prices, and the resulting confidence in the market are all major factors with regards to these employment figures.
As low interest rates continue to be the norm, the benefits are still being reaped in real estate. Moreover, the Canadian public believes that the economic downturn is nearly over and has more confidence to buy but also want to buy before rates start increasing.
But the real estate market alone is not the only contributing factor to increased real estate employment. Indeed, a strong real estate market has driven activity and employment in other industries like finance and insurance as well. Due to government stimulus spending, employment figures have been strengthened in many areas.
The services sector has been holding strong while the goods producing sector has struggled a bit more. Though this is not surprising; we don't normally expect economic recovery to be driven by manufacturing or construction industries. As seen in payroll statistics, the most serious 12-month job losses were seen in the mining and oil and gas industries where employment nose-dived more than 18 per cent. The forestry industry has been hit hard losing 16 per cent of jobs and the manufacturing sector saw a drop of 12 per cent.
While there have also been losses in the construction industry, the outlook is less bleak. Approximately 5 per cent of jobs in construction were lost during the recession, the strength of the real estate industry suggests that construction will rebound quickly. Likewise, the moderate drop in employment in construction suggests that the quick recovery of the real estate industry ameliorated any effect on construction jobs. Moreover, expected stimulus spending on infrastructure has kept the construction industry from suffering too much.
The construction industry had been on a downward trend, but a shift is already apparent. Government planning and money with regards to infrastructure means that the industry will likely remain strong for the next 10 years or more.
Nevertheless, the real bright spot for jobs in Canada has been real estate, insurance, and banking. Employers in these sectors are more confident about an increasing payroll at the beginning of 2010. Other industries where steady hiring is expected include transportation, public utilities, public administration, and retail.
On the whole, the job market in Canada looks to be improving, albeit slowly. A survey of approximately 2000 Canadian employers suggests a slightly improved hiring climate for the beginning of 2010. However, some experts are cautious in their optimism an expect jobs recovery from the recession will be much weaker than the recovery from the previous recession. The end of the 90s recession was supported by the dot com boom and we're not likely to see these kinds of benefits from other industries.
Still, there appears to be a solid demand for skilled workers, especially in information technology, and companies are driven to be more productive. This could support job growth when organizations look for high-tech solutions to their problems.
posted by VancouverResidence
