Nearly half of Ontario’s urban areas, including the North Bay census area, have fewer jobs now than in 2008.

That’s the finding of a Fraser Insitute study that says much of the province still hasn’t fully recovered from the 2008 recession.

The study finds 11 of the province’s 23 urban areas experienced net job losses from 2008 to 2016.

In the North Bay census area it was minus-9 percent.

Around the northeast, Sudbury was at minus-one percent, Timmins at minus-6.3 and the Soo was at minus-16.1.

The study also shows nearly all (98.6 percent) of the province’s net job creation was confined to the metropolitan areas of Toronto and Ottawa.

Change in total employment (%) by urban area from 2008 to 2016

Oshawa +18.0
Toronto +12.2
Guelph +11.7
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo +9.7
Ottawa +6.9
Barrie +6.1
Windsor +6.0
Kingston +4.4
Hamilton +4.2
St. Catharines-Niagara +2.3
London -1.0
Sudbury -1.0
Thunder Bay -3.5
Peterborough -4.8
Timmins -6.3
North Bay -9.0
Chatham-Kent -10.2
Sault Ste. Marie -16.1
Sarnia -20.7
Cornwall -32.8

Filed under: The Fraser Institute