Average employment in the Canadian auto industry was up 1.0 per cent between 2018 and 2019 as of the end of Q3 this year, with data from Desrosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC) revealing a boost in the auto retail sector.
As the year comes to a close, DAC’s figures should be good news for the auto industry, where an average of 691.4 thousand Canadians were employed — compared to 684.7 thousand last year in Q3. The vehicle manufacturing industry was up 1.2 per cent between 2018 and 2019, although other auto areas did not do as well.
“Other manufacturing sectors, such as metalworking machinery, motor vehicle parts and accessories, and motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing did not fare as well with employment declining 3.9 per cent, 2.5 per cent, and 2.4 per cent respectively,” said DAC.
On average employment in auto manufacturing has taken a dive, but job growth has been spotted in other areas; employment in car dealerships jumped 2.0 per cent, with 161.4 thousand employees on average working from January through to September 2019.
“In terms of percentage growth, the motor vehicle wholesale industry witnessed an employment increase of 5.2 per cent, followed by automotive parts and accessories stores where employment increased 4.5 per cent,” said DAC.
Overall, Canadian auto industry employment looks to remain relatively healthy, even as General Motors plans to close its Oshawa assembly plant by year-end.
