Labour Market Impacts of Auto Tariffs
The United States proceeded with its anticipated imposition of a 25% tariff on all vehicles manufactured outside the United States. This will have an immediate impact on Durham’s automotive industry.
Despite changes to the sector over the last 20 years, the automotive sector is an important labour market sector.
Chart One shows the number of employers by employee size range. Most automotive employers have at least 20 employees.
Chart One: Durham Region Automotive Employers by Employee Size Range
| NAICS Code | Description | 20-49 Employees | 50-99 Employees | 100-199 Employees | 200-499 Employees | 500+ Employees | Total |
| 336110 | Automobile and light-duty motor vehicle manufacturing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 336211 | Motor vehicle body manufacturing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 336212 | Truck trailer manufacturing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 336370 | Motor vehicle stamping | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Source: OMAFRA Analyst
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Candice Laing noted Wednesday that the Canadian and American auto sectors are heavily intertwined. Automotive parts can cross international borders up to eight times before a vehicle is finally assembled, and tariffs could add thousands of dollars to the cost of that vehicle, she said in a statement.
Automotive Manufacturing Employment Durham Region
There are approximately 4495 individuals employed in the Transportation and Equipment Manufacturing sector.
Chart Two: Employed by NAIC: Durham Region
| 336 Transportation equipment manufacturing | 4495 |
| 3361 Motor vehicle manufacturing | 1770 |
| 3362 Motor vehicle body and trailer manufacturing | 115 |
| 3363 Motor vehicle parts manufacturing | 1530 |
| 3364 Aerospace product and parts manufacturing | 1040 |
| 3365 Railroad rolling stock manufacturing | 15 |
| 3366 Ship and boat building | 15 |
| 3369 Other transportation equipment manufacturing | 0 |
custom data provided by Durham Workforce Authority
The tariff impact will jeopardize these jobs and impact incomes in the region. Selected wages for the automotive sector are in chart three.
Chart Three: Motor Vehicle Employment Income, Selected Occupations Durham Region
| Median Income | |
| Supervisors motor vehicle assembly | $73,500 |
| Supervisors, motor vehicle assembling | $70,500 |
| Motor vehicle assemblers, inspectors and testers | $39,200 |
custom data provided by the Durham Workforce Authority
Labour Market Disruptions
The federal government has recognized the critical role of employment assistance and reskilling services delivered by provinces and territories, which are provided through the Labour Market Development Agreements (LMDAs).
Locally, the Durham Workforce Authority has a pulse on the labour market, and collectively, the Durham Region Employment Services Consortium is the regional Employment Service System Manager (SSM) overseeing the design and delivery of employment services across the Durham region. The SSM includes a network of highly skilled Employment Services Providers who create meaningful connections between job seekers and employers.
The consortium forms the Regional Municipality of Durham (as the lead agency), Durham College and Durham Workforce Authority. With extensive experience and expertise in implementing employment and human services programs, consultation, and system coordination, the consortium will provide funding, support, and oversight for the region’s Employment Services network. A link to the SSM is included at the bottom of this blog.
The DWA will track their impacts on Durham’s clusters and economic sectors.
The greatest challenge we will face in the coming weeks is planning for and navigating uncertainty. Tariff uncertainty can affect forecasting and planning. So, events like this, keeping doors open to conversations and working together, are critical.
https://www.durham.ca/en/employment-services/introduction.aspx
https://www.durham.ca/en/economic-development/
About the DWA:
The DWA creates an annual plan supplying helpful information for community planning. Next month, the DWA will release its annual Labour Market Plan (LMP).
The plan focuses on the following:
- Durham Region demographics change, as do migration trends in and out, residents’ educational attainment, and changes in employers in the local area by employee size and 3-digit NAICs.
- Enhanced Jobs First Durham (JFD) data extracted from the DWA’s boutique job board with hyper-local information.
- An update on Employment Ontario data.
The DWA provides just-in-time custom labour market information and often conducts custom fee-for-service research. If you are interested in local data, please don’t hesitate to contact the DWA.
The Province of Ontario partially funds the DWA to supply Labour Market Information (LMI) to the Region of Durham.
Written by: Heather McMillan, Executive Director, Durham Workforce Authority
Heather’s expertise is developing strong local community labour markets and conducting industry research supported by innovative projects. Heather is a Toronto Sector Skills Academy Metcalf Fellow and was recently awarded her Certified Workforce Development Professional (CWDP) certification from the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals.