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City of Vaughan

Economic and Investment Update– May 2023

Key Highlights

  • The Consumer Price Index rose 4.3 per cent year over in March following a 5.2 per cent increase in February. Marking the smallest increase in CPI since August 2021.
  • The national unemployment rate continues to remain at 5.0 per cent in April.
  • Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.1 per cent in February.
  • The Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre experienced demand for consultations in April by Retail Trade, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Education Services, and Construction.
  • Vaughan-headquartered Blue-Zone Technologies signs agreement with Respirair Global to install its patented capture technology in Respirairs manufacturing facility.
  • Metro Supply Chain named one of Canada best managed companies.

SELECT Economic Indicators

The Consumer Price Index rose 4.3 per cent year over in March following a 5.2 per cent increase in February. Marking the smallest increase in CPI since August 2021.

The Consumer Price Index rose 4.3 per cent year over in March following a 5.2 per cent increase in February. This marks the smallest increase in CPI since August 2021. Mortgage costs and grocery prices remain key drivers of inflationary pressure. In March the homeowner’s replacement cost continued to slow at 1.6 per cent year over year compared with a 3.3 per cent increase in February highlighting a general cooling of the national housing market. However, mortgage interest costs rose at a faster rate in March (+26.4 per cent) when compared to February (23.9 per cent) due to the number of Canadians renewing and initiating mortgages at higher interest rates. Grocery prices rose to a lesser extent in March (+9.7 per cent) than in February (+10.6 per cent) due to lower prices for fresh fruit and vegetables. Price growth for durable goods slow in March (+1.6 per cent) compared with February (+3.4 per cent) with Furniture prices leading the declaration in durable goods prices falling 0.3 per cent year over year in March.

The national unemployment rate continues to remain at 5.0 per cent.

In April employment rose by 41,000 with the unemployment rate continuing to hold steady at a 5.0 per cent. Gains in employment for April were predominantly in part time work. Employment gains were noted in the following industries, wholesale trade (+24,000); transportation and warehousing (+17,000), information, culture and recreation (+16,000) and education services (+15,000). Employment however decreased in business, building and other support services (-14,000). On a year-over-year basis, average hourly wages rose 5.2 per cent (+$1.66 to $33.38) in April (not seasonally adjusted).

Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.1 per cent in February.

Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the inflation-adjusted value of goods and services produced in the economy, rose by 0.1 per cent in February. Both services-producing industries and goods-producing industries edged up 0.1 per cent. Overall, GDP in 12 of 20 subsectors increased.

The public sector which includes educational services, health care and social assistance, and public administration combined expanded 0.2 per cent in February, for the thirteenth consecutive month.

For the third consecutive month the GDP of professional, scientific, and technical services sector rose 0.6 per cent in February as seven out of nine subsectors posted gains in February. The construction sector expanded for the third consecutive month (+0.3 per cent) with the top contributor to the sectors growth being residential construction.

LOCAL TRENDS, INVESTMENTS, AND SUCCESS STORIES

The Vaughan Business and Entrepreneurship Centre experienced demand for consultations in April by Retail Trade, Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Education Services, and Construction.

ED’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship top five industries seeking consultations in April were:

  1. Retail Trade (40 per cent)
  2. Professional Scientific and Technical Services (17 per cent)
  3. Education Services (10 per cent)
  4. Construction (7 per cent)
  5. Accommodation and Food Services (5 per cent)
Vaughan-headquartered Blue-Zone Technologies signs agreement with Respirair Global to install its patented capture technology in Respirairs manufacturing facility.

Vaughan-headquartered Blue Zone Technologies a clean tech pharmaceutical company that leverages technology to capture waste anesthetic gases (WAGs) from healthcare facilities, recently entered into an agreement to install its technology in Respirair’s manufacturing facility. Respirair is a UK – based manufacturing of high quality environmentally friendly anesthesia vaporizers and accessories. This agreement marks the first contract for Blue Zone with an anesthesia machine manufacturer and aligns with the organizations mission to create greener facilities by providing creative solutions to reduce businesses GHG footprints.

Metro Supply Chain named one of Canada best managed companies.

Metro Supply Chain a strategic supply chain solutions partner to many global organizations with operations in Vaughan, was named one of Canadas best managed companies. The 2023 Canadas Best Managed Companies award recognizes excellence in private Canadian-owned companies that demonstrate leadership in the areas of strategy, culture, commitment, capabilities, innovation, governance, and financial performance. This is the third time Metro Supply Chain has received the award. The company received high accolades for its strategy and capabilities and focus on continuously improving how customers’ needs are met.