Despite low metal prices employment has remained stable with Sudbury's mining supply and services sector, according to a new survey by the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Services Association (SAMSSA).
The association surveyed 25 per cent of its members about their current employment numbers, compared to 2012, and how much their business consists of exports to other markets.
Employment numbers for larger employers, with 200 employees or more, stayed stable from 2012 to 2016.
Employers with five to 10 employees saw a 10 per cent average decrease in employment during the same period, while companies with 26 to 50 employees saw 20 per cent increase in employment.
SAMSSA members with 51 to 100 employees were hit hardest over the last four years, with an average 10 per cent decrease in employment from 2012 to 2016.
“Overall, if you look at the patterns it's pretty stable,” said Dick DeStefano, SAMSSA's executive director.
DeStefano said results to survey questions about exports were more disappointing.
Only 10 per cent of companies SAMSSA surveyed did significant exports outside of the region. “There's not a significant shift away from the regional (market),” DeStefano said.
While SAMSSA has hosted a number of information sessions to help local companies increase their exports, DeStefano said it's especially difficult for smaller companies to expand beyond Northern Ontario.
“If you have 10 people working for you, and you have to hire someone just to do exporting... It's not worth the investment. So they don't do it,” he said.
Locally-based companies that did export had business partners in most regions of the world, including parts of Europe, Africa and South America.
