Hamilton's economy?

[thistleclub]

As featured in today's Globe, a new PEPSO/McMaster/United Way report, The Precarity Penalty (May 2015):

“Compared to 2011, the prevalence of workers in Standard Employment Relationships fell everywhere other than Halton and York, where it increased marginally. It declined by 7% in the City of Toronto and by nearly 14% in Hamilton. Compared to 2011, the prevalence of temporary forms of employment increased in the City of Toronto, Hamilton and Peel, and declined in Halton and York. Temporary employment increased by 17% in the City of Toronto and by 30% in Hamilton.”

Table 4: Forms of the employment relationship by region, 2014 (%)

GTHA
Permanent full-time with benefits: 48.1
Permanent part-time: 8.2
Temporary and contract: 20.3
Other employment forms*: 23.3

CITY OF TORONTO
Permanent full-time with benefits: 45.7
Permanent part-time: 8.0
Temporary and contract: 22.7
Other employment forms*: 23.6

HAMILTON
Permanent full-time with benefits: 40.7
Permanent part-time: 12.7
Temporary and contract: 19.8
Other employment forms*: 26.7

HALTON
Permanent full-time with benefits: 57.9
Permanent part-time: 6.6
Temporary and contract: 16.1
Other employment forms*: 19.4

PEEL
Permanent full-time with benefits: 50.5
Permanent part-time: 6.7
Temporary and contract: 19.8
Other employment forms*: 22.9

YORK
Permanent full-time with benefits: 50.0
Permanent part-time: 8.7
Temporary and contract: 17.9
Other employment forms*: 23.4

* In the “Other” category, 70% are in full-time employment but either receive no benefits beyond a wage or are unable to confirm they would be with their current employer for at least 12 months. 15% are self-employed with employees and 14% are in full-time employment but their hours varied from week to week and in some case could be less than 30 hours.

Read the report in full here.

[thistleclub]

No security, no benefits: A picture of precarious work in Hamilton
(CBC Hamilton, June 27 2015)

A study pegs the share of Hamilton workers in precarious employment at nearly 60 per cent — leaving more than half the city in jobs that often have no security, benefits and regular scheduling.

And the problem is the worst in Hamilton's North End and core, according to new stats released this week by McMaster University and the United Way in Toronto.

The percentage of workers in full-time jobs with benefits is smallest in the centre of the city, compared to the east end, the Mountain and Burlington, the report shows.

The overall study for the GTA and Hamilton came out last month. But McMaster University researcher Wayne Lewchuk released new breakdowns for Hamilton this week.

Here's a map that shows how Lewchuk divided the city for the breakdown:



And here are the graphs that show the trend outlined above.

The full-time jobs with benefits:



And the percentage that are precariously employed:




Read it in full here

[realcity]

I'm in L8L core downtown. Crack dealer two houses down.... good guy but when the Barton St hookers make a trick they are at his house to get high... this happens usually from around 10pm to 3:00a and they same starts from the hookers as early at 7am. Early morning on-the-way-to-work blow jobs for these Johns, early blow job. As soon as they make 20$ they're at the house for a hit.

[davidcappi]

I'm in L8L core downtown. Crack dealer two houses down.... good guy but when the Barton St hookers make a trick they are at his house to get high... this happens usually from around 10pm to 3:00a and they same starts from the hookers as early at 7am. Early morning on-the-way-to-work blow jobs for these Johns, early blow job. As soon as they make 20$ they're at the house for a hit.

I'm at Barton and St. Matthews and this is basically it.

[HillStreetBlues]

Have you guys done counts? Is the trend up or down? This could be an important economic indicator.

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

Have you guys done counts? Is the trend up or down? This could be an important economic indicator.

^^ This. The anecdotes about hookers are useless in terms of anything other than...what?...cool stories?

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by movingtohamilton

^^ This. The anecdotes about hookers are useless in terms of anything other than...what?...cool stories?

Yep. And complaints from people who love to put down the city, or specifically the lower city and downtown.

[flar]

Unfortunately, hookers are quite numerous, they are highly visible and you have very good odds of running in to them in certain parts of the city. I see them all the time on my early morning photo trips. In fact, the odds of seeing them are high enough that the last two times I visited Hamilton I saw hookers. One staggering around in Corktown at about 7:30 am, and the other time I stumbled upon a nasty old man and a prostitute in the gardens around Liuna Station. I was just trying to take a photo of the building, at around 10am. When I lived in Hamilton, I saw them all the time on Barton St (my wife worked on Barton St for a while--not as a hooker of course). Morning is one of the best times to see them. Some of them are aggressive and openly proposition you. It reminds me of some American cities, actually.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

'Morning is one of the best times to see [hookers in Hamilton]. Some of them are aggressive and openly proposition you...'

^This with Hinterland Who's Who playing in the background would be amazing.

[Beedok]

I think I'm just monumentally oblivious/naive as I've never noticed any in Hamilton or Thunder Bay.

[realcity]

Early morning is when the hookers show up at my neighbours house, starting around 4am. It picks up again around early evening, when they get high for the night shift. They are on every corner, every doorway from Wentworth to Gage along Barton St.

[bigguy1231]

I remember being in downtown Vancouver a few years back and being amazed how many hookers there were. On some streets it was like you were surrounded by them and these weren't in the seedy areas. Every city has them, most in larger numbers than we have. It's part of city life.

[matt602]

The Hamilton Economy thread turns into a discussion about hookers. It was meant to be.

[realcity]

It's about the poverty problem and the poverty industry

[HillStreetBlues]

Originally Posted by realcity

...the poverty industry

I think this is really worth discussing (maybe not in this thread); I haven't seen it come up much here.

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by HillStreetBlues

I think this is really worth discussing (maybe not in this thread); I haven't seen it come up much here.

I agree that it's worth discussing. From my own observations, the poverty industry is rarely discussed publicly in Hamilton.

[king10]

what is meant by "poverty industry"

Like the salvation army? value village? food banks? EI insurance?pay day loan shops?

[realcity]

/\ yes. and Goodwill, employment services Path, YMCA, St. Vincent de Paul, CAS, ADGS Social workers, New Horizons, that youth centre on Wilson, First Place, United Way, All the government programs, these workers have good high paying jobs and need the poverty, clients, patients to exist. They are located mostly in Wards 2 and 3. You just don't see it like this concentration in Burlington and Oakville. The number of people employed in the poverty industry must be in the 10,000s range.

[realcity]

I might add that with poverty usually comes other social problems, addictions, child abuse, mental health, unemployment, crime, prostitution, and the number of programs to help people rise out of poverty. Although I think we do pretty good, Hamilton still one of the worst cities in the country when comes poverty.

[realcity]

Back to economy
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/22...-parkway-site/
New Hotel on Centennial Pkwy

I never go to that part of the City, does anyone know if it was built?