Young people have been leaving the Timmins area, and that trend is likely to continue. A youth out-migration report commissioned by the Far North East Training Board estimates that in the board's coverage area, about 3,000 youth have left the North over the last five years. Though the outflow is not as great as in other northern communities, the report's authors, Suther Holler Associates, indicate the region's population will continue to decline from 140,128 people in 1996 to 136,701 by 2006. The report also reveals that education levels in the Timmins region are lower than the provincial average.