In a sign the construction sector is returning to normal, the industry chalked up $8 billion worth of permit activity in August—a jump of 1.7 percent from July’s total.

The change comes amid significant economic uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s not good news for employers who anticipated seeing their premiums fall.

More than 70 percent of the total labour hours projected for the $5.7-billion project will be expended between 2021 and 2023.

Charting growth rates of 135 percent and 128 percent respectively over the past three years, the Ontario-based firms scored 274 and 281 on the top 400 in the country.

Overall, the Conference Board of Canada forecasts that real GDP will shrink by 6.6 percent in 2020. That’s an improvement over the organization’s last outlook that called for an 8.2 percent drop this year.