Interactive Ontario is committed to the growth of the Interactive Digital Media (IDM) sector and to that end, we have recently released our follow-up report Measuring Success: The Impact of the Interactive Digital Media Sector in Ontario [English PDF; French PDF] report today during a launch at Ryerson University. The report, prepared by Nordicity, shares the same title as our initial report from 2017, and highlights the growing impact the IDM sector has on the economy and job market in Ontario.
Key highlights from the report note the IDM sector’s economic impact on employment, GDP contribution, and export revenues, as well as providing details on products and services being generated in Ontario.
“These reports are designed to fill a crucial knowledge gap felt by industry, policymakers, and the wider public and provide an overview of considerations that we can target to foster growth for this vital sector,” says Lucie Lalumière, President and CEO of Interactive Ontario. “We have over 929 companies winning awards internationally and proving to be a major draw for investment from abroad, but we need to make sure we are looking at ways that we can help to support this sector locally to build on our existing momentum to make Ontario a world-leader in the IDM space,” says Lalumière.
“It’s rewarding to see such strong evidence of continued growth in this sector, as well as the real impact of provincial investments in IDM companies and content. This is a vibrant industry creating high-paying jobs and important opportunities for emerging talent,” says Karen Thorne-Stone, President & CEO of Ontario Creates, one of the study’s funding partners and a key catalyst for interactive digital media companies and content in Ontario.
The data was gathered between July and December 2018 from 107 IDM companies in Ontario, and explored themes like opportunities, barriers, growth, workforce, and output.
Featured Findings:
- There are 929 Ontario-based Interactive Digital Media (IDM) companies.
- The IDM industry directly employs 12,300 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and its economic activity supports a grand total of 18,070 full-time jobs in the wider economy.
- Ontario’s IDM industry generated $1.77 billion in GDP impacts in 2017, an increase of $370 million compared to 2015.
- IDM companies in Ontario expected to hire 2,770 FTEs in the 12 months following the survey.
- The average salary in the industry is $74,000, which has increased by 41% since 2015.
- Ontario’s IDM industry contributed $544.7 million in taxes across all levels of government, an increase of 23% over 2015 levels.
Both editions of the report can be accessed here.
