TORONTO — Ontario's economy outperformed expectations in the fourth quarter with a 0.9 per cent jump in Gross Domestic Product, leading to an annualized growth rate of 3.8 per cent for 2010.
The province's economy outperformed both Canada and the United States, Finance Minister Dwight Duncan said Thursday.
Fourth-quarter numbers were led by strong growth in exports, despite the rising dollar, as well as continued gains in business investment and consumer spending, added Duncan.
"Another quarter of very solid growth ... right across the board," he said. "The Ontario economy has now had six quarters in a row of growth, and we're very pleased with the results."
Duncan said Ontario is turning the corner after the recent recession, and has recovered 93 per cent of the jobs lost during the downturn, creating about 239,000 jobs between May 2009 and March 2011.
And while an above-par dollar tends to hurt Ontario exports, Duncan said he considered the high-flying loonie's impact on the economy as he prepared the provincial budget last month.
"That dollar rose throughout those last six quarters, and we're still seeing manufacturers invest in new equipment, which makes our economy more productive," he said. "It is above par, and that's a concern and was cited in the budget as a risk factor, and I think it is an important factor."
Manufacturing declined 0.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, but the overall economic numbers "are very solid," and "the growth very strong," said Duncan, who predicted more modest growth this year.
The report shows a sharp 7.6 per cent drop in auto production, a major source of weakness for the manufacturing sector in the fourth quarter. Both vehicle assembly and parts production decreased due to extended plant shutdowns and severe winter weather.
Duncan wasn't overly concerned about the drop in automotive production in the last quarter.
"Manufacturing is still up for the year, certainly higher than forecast, and we're seeing continued improvement in both the domestic and foreign auto sectors," he said.
The Progressive Conservatives said things aren't as good as Duncan claims, noting unemployment in Ontario has lagged behind the national average for more than four years.
"There was a study last week that said 28 per cent of Ontario workers fear for their jobs, despite the fact that on paper the recession is over," said Opposition critic Peter Shurman. "This is not a rosy picture. As much as we all want Ontario to be in great shape, it's not under Dalton McGuinty."
The New Democrats said many of the jobs created since the recession are not as good as the hundreds of thousands of jobs that were lost during the downturn.
"The minister is spinning as best he can, but the reality is, for people in Ontario life is still very hard," said NDP critic Peter Tabuns. "People lost good paying jobs and many of them were replaced with part-time or lower-paying jobs."
The Liberals said Statistics Canada figures show most of the jobs recovered since the downturn are full-time, and 96 per cent of them have been in sectors that pay above average wages.