Overview

Analyst is an online tool that pools data from a range of sources to provide information on regional economies and workforces. It helps you better understand your region so you can make informed decisions.

Analyst helps you:

  • find out what industries set your region apart or make it more competitive
  • track the flow of money within a geographical area
  • see trends like hiring patterns or sales increases in a particular industry
  • find labour force and wage comparisons
  • benchmark your community against other regions
  • predict the effects of changes in a regional economy

How to get an account

You can request an Analyst account if you work for an organization like the following:

  • local and regional government economic development office
  • economic development corporation
  • workforce planning board
  • chamber of commerce
  • business improvement area organization

Here are the steps to get your 30-day Analyst account:

  1. Fill out our online request form.
  2. We’ll send you a terms and conditions agreement.
  3. You must return the agreement at least five business days before the end of the month.
  4. We’ll then email you login credentials by the beginning of the following month.

How it works

Analyst combines multiple national data sources and allows you to:

  • view data
  • create graphs and charts
  • export information to PDF, Excel or CSV
  • generate reports

The information in Analyst comes from the following sources:

  • Canadian Business Patterns (CBP)
  • Census Data
  • National Household Survey (NHS)
  • Survey of Employment, Payroll and Hours (SEPH)
  • Labour Force Surveys (LFS)
  • Canadian Occupational Projection System (COPS)
  • CANSIM demographics
  • Postsecondary Student Information System Education Data (PSIS)
  • National Symmetric Input-Output Table

Resources

Regional economic development advisors

Email us at ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca or call us at 1-877-424-1300 so we can assign you a regional economic development advisor who will:

  • work with you to help you use the data according to your needs
  • help you understand the information you receive
  • pull information from Analyst on your behalf

Training

Online training support is available on the Analyst website.

Regional economic analysis training is also available where we teach you how:

  • Analyst works
  • to use data to understand your regional economy
  • plan for future economic growth

You’ll also learn how to use statistics from external sources such as Statistics Canada and the Community Data Program.

To ask for training, fill out our request form.