A report from the Conference Board of Canada has a sunny forecast for Windsor's economy.
The report says Windsor's economy grew 2.7% last year, and employment grew 2.8%. While employment hasn't yet returned to pre-recession levels, the jobless rate is predicted to fall to 7.5% in 2017.
"It's definitely still catching up from the tough period Windsor suffered through between 2006 and 2009, and that's one of the reasons why the unemployment rate stubbornly high," says associate director Alan Arcand. "It's still recovering from that period."
The real gross domestic product is expected to post a 2% gain in 2016, and a 2.2% increase in 2017.
Arcand says it's a sign that while Windsor's not headed for a boom, better times are ahead.
Both manufacturing and construction made gains.
Manufacturing shrunk 40% between 2001 and 2009, but over the past five years, it's been ramping up showing gains of 4.7% annually, thanks in large part to a lower Canadian dollar. Employment in that sector is expected to grow 3.1% over the next two years.
Construction has hit a lull after the completion of the Rt. Hon. Herb Gray Pkwy but Arcand expects it to pick up again once work starts on the new Gordie Howe International Bridge to the U.S.
Housing starts also hit a nine-year high last year with 915 units. That will cool slightly in 2016 to 850 units this year.
