Maintenance and repair jobs continue to decline in Q1, says DesRosiers

First quarter automotive sector employment shows weak growth in most sectors, excluding maintenance and repair. The number of automotive service jobs continues to erode, dropping from 145.3k in Q1 2012 to 141.3k during the same period this year (-2.7%).

This drop follows previous declines in Q1 2012, when jobs dropped 7.8k relative to Q1 2011. The origins of this trend are unclear given the growth in size and age (and therefore maintenance intensity) of Canada’s vehicle parc.

Of the various automotive industry manufacturing sub-sectors, motor vehicle assembly evinced the most robust Q1 gains with an 8.5 percent year-to-date increase relative to 2012. The sector provided an average of 66.7k jobs between January and March, up from 61.5k during the same period the previous year. Both the rate of growth and absolute number of jobs represent useful increases relative to the past four years but remain well below last decade’s peaks.

Vehicle dealers also enjoyed reasonable employment growth, increasing from an average of 144.8k jobs in Q1 2012 to 153.6k jobs in 2013 (+6.1%). Strong new vehicle sales in 2013 have resulted in increased dealer headcounts, with averages now approaching record highs.

Overall, employment in Canada’s automotive industry grew by a tepid 3.0 percent during the first quarter of 2013. An average of 824.2k jobs were seen during the first three months of the year, up from 800.0k during the equivalent period in 2012.

While any growth is positive, previous rebounds in the auto sector have been accompanied by stronger employment gains.

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