Labour Market Insights
Sought-After Skills and Languages: Top Occupations and In-Demand Jobs for Windsor-Essex for April 2024
The trends for in-demand jobs and sectors that we began seeing in February and March have continued into April, specifically an increase in demand for various types of engineers as well as an increase in demand in the Accommodation and Food Services sector. Beyond this, we’re taking a look at the occupations employers are hiring for and the job postings jobseekers and interacting with, as well as the demand for language and other skills that jobseekers can use to their advantage on their resumes.
In April 2024, there were 5,304 total active job postings from 1,943 companies for an increase of 6% in total active job postings from the previous month. The number of new job postings also increased this month, up 2% from March, with 2,870 new jobs posted in the month of April. The Job Board received 25,198 job post clicks, down 2% from the previous month.
The top 15 searched-for occupations overall in Windsor-Essex for April 2024 on the Job Board were:
| Ranking | Searched Overall in April 2024 | Number of Search Instances (April 2024) | Net Change from March 2024 | % Change from March 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail Salespersons | 1,427 | +138 | +10.7% |
| 2 | Administrative Assistants | 817 | +326 | +66.4% |
| 3 | Material Handlers | 730 | -171 | -19.0% |
| 4 | Other Customer and Information Services Representatives | 727 | +28 | +4.0% |
| 5 | Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations | 600 | -303 | -33.6% |
| 6 | Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers | 590 | +114 | +24.0% |
| 7 | Other Labourers in Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities | 581 | -339 | -36.9% |
| 8 | Light Duty Cleaners | 580 | +158 | +37.4% |
| 9 | Administrative Officers | 491 | +18 | +3.8% |
| 10 | Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents | 386 | +57 | +17.3% |
| 11 | Receptionists | 367 | -90 | -19.7% |
| 12 | Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations | 351 | +64 | +22.3% |
| 13 | Food and Beverage Servers | 339 | -44 | -11.5% |
| 14 | Delivery and Courier Service Drivers | 336 | +106 | +46.1% |
| 15 | Medical Administrative Assistants | 331 | +125 | +60.7% |
These numbers are specific to the Job Board. To learn more about the occupations listed in these tables, visit the Career Library.
Occupations seeing a significant increase in interactions on the Job Board in April as compared to March include Administrative Assistants (up 66.4%); Medical Administrative Assistants (up 60.7%); Delivery and Courier Service Drivers (up 46.1%); Light Duty Cleaners (up 37.4%); and Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers (up 20.4%).
Occupations seeing a significant decrease in interactions on the Job Board in April as compared to March include Other Labourers in Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities (down 36.9%); Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations (down 33.6%); Receptionists (down 19.7%); Material Handlers (down 19.0%); and Food and Beverage Servers (down 11.5%).
The top 20 in-demand occupations by local employers for April 2024 were:
| Ranking | In-Demand Occupation for April 2024 | Posting Count (April 2024) | Net Change from March 2024 | % Change from March 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail Salespersons | 190 | +15 | +8.6% |
| 2 | Transport Truck Drivers | 140 | -13 | -8.5% |
| 3 | Cooks | 113 | +28 | +32.9% |
| 4 | Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations | 106 | +7 | +7.1% |
| 5 | Retail and Wholesale Trade Managers | 97 | +6 | +6.6% |
| 6 | Material Handlers | 85 | -6 | -6.6% |
| 7 | Mechanical Engineers | 83 | +14 | +20.3% |
| 8 | Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses | 82 | +1 | +1.2% |
| 9 | Electrical and Electronics Engineers | 81 | +8 | +11.0% |
| 10 | Other Customer and Information Services Representatives | 79 | +16 | +25.4% |
| 11 | Construction Millwrights and Industrial Mechanics | 79 | -2 | -2.5% |
| 12 | Administrative Officers | 75 | -4 | -5.1% |
| 13 | Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations | 75 | +3 | +4.2% |
| 14 | Food and Beverage Servers | 73 | -5 | -6.4% |
| 15 | Light Duty Cleaners | 72 | +18 | +33.3% |
| 16 | Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents | 69 | +7 | +11.3% |
| 17 | Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers | 68 | 0 | 0% |
| 18 | Administrative Assistants | 67 | +6 | +9.8% |
| 19 | Food Service Supervisors | 67 | +10 | +17.5% |
| 20 | Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers | 67 | -2 | -2.9% |
April saw significant increases in total active job postings for a few occupations, as compared to the previous month, including Light Duty Cleaners (up 33.3%), Cooks (up 32.9%), Other Customer and Information Services Representatives (up 25.4%), Mechanical Engineers (up 20.3%), and Food Service Supervisors (up 17.5%).
Occupations that saw a decrease in total active job postings in April over March include Transport Truck Drivers (down 8.5%); Material Handlers (down 6.6%); Food and Beverage Servers (down 6.4%); Administrative Officers (down 5.1%); and Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers (down 2.9%).
We do see some overlap in what occupations companies are hiring for versus what jobseekers are looking for. Retail Salepersons always appears very high on the demand and search lists, and this month is no exception. Occupations seeing increases in both demand and in searches include Light Duty Cleaners; Administrative Assistants; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; and Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations.
Demand, as also noted in February and March, continues to increase for Mechanical Engineers, Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers (although the latter one was unchanged from the previous month).
Hiring by 2-Digit NAICS:
| Ranking | NAICS Code | 2-Digit NAICS Label | Posting Count (April 2024) | Net Change from March 2024 | % Change from March 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 62 | Healthcare and Social Assistance | 785 | +43 | +5.8% |
| 2. | 31-33 | Manufacturing | 740 | +12 | +1.6% |
| 3. | 56 | Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services | 720 | -24 | -3.2% |
| 4. | 44-46 | Retail Trade | 689 | +10 | +1.5% |
| 5. | 54 | Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 518 | +36 | +7.5% |
| 6. | 72 | Accommodation and Food Services | 401 | +50 | +14.3% |
| 7. | 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing | 351 | -3 | -0.9% |
| 8. | 81 | Other Services (Except Public Administration) | 345 | +31 | +9.9% |
| 9. | 91 | Public Administration | 338 | +42 | +14.2% |
| 10. | 52 | Finance and Insurance | 268 | +27 | +11.2% |
| 11. | 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 223 | +36 | +19.3% |
| 12. | 23 | Construction | 219 | +21 | +10.6% |
| 13. | 61 | Educational Services | 151 | +7 | +4.9% |
| 14. | 41 | Wholesale Trade | 143 | +27 | +23.3% |
| 15. | 51 | Information and Cultural Industries | 101 | -5 | -4.7% |
| 16. | 71 | Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | 76 | +2 | +2.7% |
| 17. | 53 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 71 | -2 | -2.7% |
| 18. | 22 | Utilities | 20 | +2 | +11.1% |
| 19. | 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 7 | -6 | -46.2% |
| 20. | 55 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 4 | +2 | +100% |
Continuing the trends in March, April also saw a significant increase in demand in the Accommodation and Food Services sector (up 14.3% in April as compared to March), which can also be seen in the increase in total active job postings for Cooks; Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations; and Food Service Supervisors. Hiring for Food and Beverage Servers was down slightly from the previous month, however, but not significantly enough to show a decrease in demand in the sector.
The Healthcare and Social Assistance sector also saw an increase in demand in April over March, which can be partly attributed to the increase in job postings for Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses and Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations, as demonstrated in the Top 20 In-Demand Occupations table earlier in this blog.
What Are Employers Looking For?: Items to Add to Your Resume
Job postings in April saw a significant increase in employers looking to hire individuals with language skills, that is, outside of the English language.
Of the 5,309 total active job postings in April, 92 of them are looking for people with a second language. While that may not seem like a lot, it is up 18% from March. In fact, it’s up even further (23%) specifically in jobs posted during the month of April 2024, and even more employers (31% more in April over March) are looking for language skills.
Of the languages employers are looking for, the top one is French. By looking at the above chart, if you are bilingual, or know French or any other language, definitely include this information on your resume and cover letter. If you need help with your resume and cover letter, check out Workforce WindsorEssex’s Resume Builder and Cover Letter Generator tools, which are both free to use.
In terms of what types of positions are looking for language skills, we see that Professional Occupations; Technical, Paraprofessional and Skilled Occupations; and Intermediate Occupations are most likely to seek language skills, while Labouring and Elemental Occupations are least likely.
If you don’t know another language, there are still many relevant keywords and skills you can add to your resume. By looking at some of the most popular skills and key job terms used in job postings for the month of April, try to identify some that apply to you and include them on your resume:
Top Hiring Employers:
Looking at the companies posting jobs in Windsor-Essex, the below table shows the top 10 hiring companies in the region.
| Ranking | Company | Number of Postings (April 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Windsor Regional Hospital | 192 |
| 2. | Loblaw Companies Limited | 61 |
| 3. | RACAR Companies Limited | 51 |
| 4. | The Corporation of the City of Windsor | 45 |
| 5. | NextStar Energy | 38 |
| 6. | Subway Restaurants | 37 |
| 7. | Nature Fresh Farms Inc. | 36 |
| 8. | Flex-N-Gate Corporation | 31 |
| 9. | Mastronardi Produce Limited | 31 |
| 10. | Rocket Mortgage Canada | 27 |
The top hiring employers for the region align with the previously-mentioned in-demand occupations and sectors (specifically Healthcare and Social Assistance and Accommodation and Food Services, as well as Retail Trade and Manufacturing). New on this list in April is Rocket Mortgage Canada, which is part of the Finance and Insurance sector that also saw an increase in demand in April over the previous month. The Finance and Insurance sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in financial transactions (transactions involving the creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of financial assets) or in facilitating financial transactions. This includes establishments that are primarily engaged in financial intermediation. They raise funds by taking deposits and/or issuing securities, and, in the process, incur liabilities, which they use to acquire financial assets by making loans and/or purchasing securities. Putting themselves at risk, they channel funds from lenders to borrowers and transform or repackage the funds with respect to maturity, scale and risk.
THE FINDINGS OF THIS REPORT WERE SOURCED FROM:
MONTHLY JOB DEMAND REPORT
As of April 2019, the monthly Job Demand Report for Windsor-Essex is created by Workforce WindsorEssex using data collected from unique national, provincial and locally-significant job boards. Between May 2017 and March 2019, job posting data was purchased from CEB Talent Neuron.
MONTHLY JOB SEARCH REPORT
The monthly Job Search Report for Windsor-Essex is created by Workforce WindsorEssex using data collected from four job finding tools, including WEexplore, WEmap jobs, WEjobs board, and the Bridge Timeline Tool. Gender and age information of users is voluntarily shared with the organization.
Questions? Please contact: info@workforcewindsoressex.com.
