Halton's Labour Market
Excellent Location
The close proximity to other large urban centres such as Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo results in more than half of Halton residents commuting out of the region for work. 34% of Halton firms are located in Burlington, 41% in Oakville, 14% in Milton, and Halton Hills is home to 11% of companies in the region.
Educated and Stable
Halton benefits from an affluent and highly educated population. 38% of the population in Halton aged 25 to 64 has a university education and a further 24% have obtained a college diploma. Both of these proportions are higher than the proportions shown across Ontario.
Halton enjoys an unemployment rate below the provincial and Toronto area average. Halton’s unemployment rate is approximately at 5.5%.
Diverse Industries and Workforce
Halton's economic diversity represents a cross section of key business and industry sectors. A partnership between Industry, Labour and Education provides for the development of a skilled workforce throughout the Region.
Halton has experienced profound growth of nearly 30% in the immigrant population, outpacing the growth of the immigrant population across the Greater Toronto Area.
Major Industries
As for distribution of businesses by sector, 95% of Halton firms belong to one of the following 15 sectors
Professional Services (21%)
Construction (10%)
Real Estate (9%)
Other Services (8%)
Retail Trade (8%)
Finance and Insurance (6%)
Wholesale Trade (6%)
Management of Companies (5%)
Administrative and Support (5%)
Health Care and Social Assistance (5%)
Transportation and Warehousing (4%)
Manufacturing (4%)
Accommodation and Food Services (3%)
Chamber of Commerce: Use the Chamber of Commerce to do a "Business Search" in Halton for employers in your field:
Salaries and Wages
For up to date information, please visits Statistics Canada.
Starting a Business
Congratulations for taking the first step towards entrepreneurship! At this stage, you need to understand business ownership structures, registration of your business name, government regulations that may apply to your business and developing a business plan.
For more information, please visit the Ontario Government's website, or the Halton Small Business Centre.
