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The annual Halton Region Employment Survey and Halton Region Business Conditions Survey collects information on businesses and employment in the Region.

Each year, Halton Region collects information on businesses and employment in the region through an Employment Survey. Information gathered through the annual survey helps the Region:

  • monitor the region’s economic health and assess trends in economic development (e.g., local economic activity and land use patterns)
  • monitor and implement land use targets
  • support water, wastewater and transportation master plans

All data collected from the survey is consolidated and released to the public though the Employment Survey Results report. Individual business information is neither identifiable nor published in the report.

Stay informed on the Annual Employment Survey

Are you a business owner or operator in Halton? Provide your email address to receive updates on the Annual Employment Survey and how you can participate. Thank you!

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2024 Employment Survey – take our survey today!

Are you a business owner in Halton? We are conducting our annual Employment Survey starting May 13, 2024 and we want to hear from you! Your input will help us monitor regional employment activities and trends and inform policy decisions to support future economic growth in Halton.

Take the online survey!

Here's what you need to know:

  • The survey will take about five minutes to complete.
  • The survey will be open until September 30, 2024.
  • Survey results will be reported through our annual Employment Survey Results report in 2025. We will also share the data with our Local Municipalities (the City of Burlington and the Towns of Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville).
  • Your responses will not be disclosed publicly, unless required to do so by law. Responses will be grouped together and no individual company will be identified.

Our Employment Survey team:

We will also be reaching out to local business owners in-person, by phone or by email through a team of nine Regional Employment Surveyors. If you are unsure whether a surveyor is a Halton Region employee, please call 311 or 905-825-6000 to confirm. Alternatively, you can ask for the Employment Surveyor to contact you using a verified Halton email address.

Thank you in advance for participating in the 2024 Halton Region Employment Survey!


 

Past Employment Survey Results

The 2023 Employment Survey took place between May 8 and September 29, 2023. A team of Employment Surveyors from the Region’s Planning Services Division reached out to businesses in Halton in person, by phone or by email to gather updated business and employment information. Businesses were also able to respond through an online survey. Thank you to everyone who participated! 

   

2023 Survey Highlights

  • Jobs increased by 1.4 per cent from 2022.
  • Retail trade accounted for the highest number of total jobs (14.6 per cent) and businesses (17.6 per cent).
  • Small businesses made up nearly 64 per cent of employers and accounted for about 43 per cent of jobs.
  • More than 40 per cent of businesses and 49 per cent of jobs were located within Halton’s Employment Areas.
  • Businesses providing professional, scientific and technical services had the highest rate of work-from-home arrangements, while businesses providing accommodation and food services had the lowest.
  • About 49 per cent of employees in the Transportation and Warehousing sector work from home on typical day, while less than one per cent work from home in the Accommodation and Food Services sector.

The 2022 Employment Survey took place between May 9 and September 30, 2021. A team of Employment Surveyors from the Region’s Planning Services Division reached out to businesses in Halton in person and by phone or by email to gather updated business and employment information. Businesses were also able to respond through an online survey. Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s survey.

The results of the Employment Survey are now available, and show increases to the total number of businesses and jobs.

   

2022 Survey Highlights

  • The total number of jobs identified in 2022 increased by about 5,400 jobs from 2021, a 2.3 per cent increase.
  • There was also an increase in the number of businesses identified compared to 2021, an increase by 220 businesses.
  • Of the 7,410 businesses that responded to the survey question regarding working from home, about 23 per cent indicated that the businesses had a work-from-home arrangements with their employees.
  • Employment Areas in Halton hosted more than 40 per cent of total businesses and 49 per cent of total jobs.

2021 Survey Results

The 2021 Employment Survey took place between May 10 and September 30, 2021. A team of nine Surveyors from the Region’s Planning Services Division reached out to businesses in Halton by phone or by email to gather updated business and employment information. Businesses were also able to respond through an online survey. Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s survey.

The results of the Employment Survey are now available and show a positive future for the region’s recovery, despite the global impacts of COVID-19. Our local businesses have shown remarkable resilience and have adapted to the pandemic through work-from-home arrangements, new health and safety measures and an enhanced digital presence.

2021 Survey Highlights:

  • Jobs in Halton increased by an estimated 2.8 per cent between 2020 and 2021.
  • Businesses in the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services sector saw the highest net estimated increase in jobs – a more than 17 per cent increase from 2020.
  • More than 26 per cent of employers indicated they had staff work from home.
  • Employment Areas in Halton hosted more than 41 per cent of total businesses and 51 per cent of total jobs.

2020 Employment Survey Results

The 2020 Employment Survey took place between September 14 and December 31, 2020. The results of the Employment Survey are now available online, and show the significant and widespread impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Halton’s business community.

2020 Survey Highlights

  • The survey identified 13,647 businesses (a slight decrease from 13,650 businesses in 2019) and estimated 228,400 jobs (a decrease by 5.4 per cent from 241,423 jobs in 2019).
  • Halton’s Employment Areas continue to play a significant role in supporting regional economic activities, with 43.8 per cent of total businesses and 53.6 per cent of total jobs located in these areas.
  • In 2020, 4,973 businesses responded to the work-from-home survey question. 21.6 per cent of the responding businesses (1,072 businesses) indicated that the employees were working from home;
  • The sector with the highest net decrease in total jobs was Accommodation and Food Services (a decrease of 3,800 jobs, or a 20.1 per cent decrease from 18,911 jobs in 2019); and
  • The sector with the highest net increase in total jobs was Health Care and Social Assistance sector (an increase by 2,200 jobs, or an 8.7 per cent increase from 25,154 jobs in 2019).

 

Halton Region Business Conditions Survey

Halton Region Economic Development in partnership with the Halton Local Municipalities carries out an annual business survey that collects information from private sector employers across Halton to gain insight on current business and economic conditions faced by local businesses including questions on expectations for growth in the year ahead, plans for exporting, innovation, staffing and addressing climate change.
 
Information from the survey will help Halton Region and its Local Municipalities tailor programming to the needs of the business community.
All data collected from the survey is consolidated and released to the public though the Halton Region Business Conditions Survey Results report. Individual business information is neither identifiable nor published in the report.

The 2023 Halton Region Business Conditions Survey took place from October 30 to November 28, 2023. Thank you to all participants - your input will help inform both Halton Region and Local Municipal initiatives, policies and programming that support the Halton business community!

Read the Halton Region 2023 Business Conditions Survey Results report (PDF file)

 
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