A new report from TechToronto, an organization supporting the city’s technology community, says over 400,000 jobs in Toronto in 2016 are related to the tech sector.

The report, How Technology is Changing Toronto Employment, found that:

• Over the last 5 years, Toronto has grown tech-related jobs by 14.6%, which is two times faster than the rest of the country
• The Toronto tech ecosystem has a total of 401,000 jobs, making up 15% of all Toronto employment
• Tech-related jobs earned $24 billion in salaries in 2015, making it one of the highest hourly wage sectors in the city
• Toronto’s tech ecosystem is projected to add an additional 20,000 jobs by 2020.

Ben Zifkin, CEO of Hubba, a B2B product information network for retailers, said: “This report corroborates what we already know and what the rest of the world is learning – that Toronto excels in technology and that we can develop globally disruptive companies.”

“What we can work on is developing an even more supportive innovation community, so that technology companies and jobs can flourish.”

The report made public policy recommendations including the following:

• Make the Toronto-Waterloo corridor world-renowned for fintech and machine learning
• Introduce fast track immigration visa for tech talents
• Increase enrollment and diversity in post secondary STEM programs
• Re-distribute government funds from incumbents to scaleups and startups
• Solve civic problems and strengthen local tech companies via procurement.

Download the full report, How Technology is Changing Toronto Employment, produced in collaboration with PwC, the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, and CareerBuilder.

Credit: StartupHere Toronto and Tech Toronto