Labour Market Insights

Entering Stage 2 and Looking Ahead to Stage 3: COVID-19’s Continuing Impact on Job Search and Demand in Windsor-Essex for June 2020

Windsor-Essex, except for Leamington and Kingsville, moved to Stage 2 on June 25, 2020. This was nearly two weeks after the majority of the province was permitted to reopen on June 12. Leamington and Kingsville were permitted to enter Stage 2 on July 7, almost two weeks after Windsor. The Windsor CMA’s unemployment rate decreased to 15.2% (from 16.7%) in June 2020, based on the time period of June 14-20.

While no dates have been announced for implementing Stage 3 in the province, it is slated to include gyms, fitness studios, movie theatres, indoor dining, bars, and recreational sports.

Although Stage 2 came late in the month for Windsor-Essex, we did see some changes over the previous month.

In June 2020, we saw 9,743 interactions from 6,721 users on the Job Board. The number of users was up 6.9% from 6,288 users in May. The increase in users could be attributed to portions of the Windsor-Essex region being permitted to open late in the month and businesses preparing to increase their services.

June 2020 Interactions by Gender for the Job Board

Of these interactions, 34.1% (2,059) were male, 30% (1,817) were female, 35.6% (2,146) were unknown, and 0.2% (14) identified as other.

Top five most interacted with jobs in Windsor-Essex for June 2020

The top five occupations receiving the most interactions for June 2020 were: Retail Salespersons; Administrative Assistants; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations; and Delivery and Courier Service Drivers.

While the occupations are largely the same as the previous month, it did see Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations rise from seventh with 211 interactions in May to fourth with 337 interactions in June. This could be due to COVID-19 numbers dropping and thus individuals feeling more comfortable working in these positions. Additionally, mandatory masks indoors and the availability of hand sanitizer and other PPEs may contribute to individuals feeling safer taking on these occupations once again.

Cooks, which had fallen off in interest over the duration of the pandemic, rose significantly this month, being the eighth most interacted-with occupation in June with 269 interactions as compared to number 24 (95 interactions) in May. With outdoor dining and patios permitted to open as part of Stage 2 and further restrictions lifting as part of Stage 3, we could see this trend continue.

Top ten in-demand occupations in Windsor-Essex for June 2020

The top ten in-demand occupations for June 2020 were: Retail Salespersons; Transport Truck Drivers; Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations; Material Handlers; Nursery and Greenhouse Workers; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Cooks; Delivery and Courier Service Drivers; Construction Trade Helpers and Labourers; and Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations.

Again, this list is largely similar to the May 2020 top ten in-demand occupations, except for Construction Trades Helpers and Labourers, which went from seventeenth with 37 postings in May to ninth with 58 postings in June, up 56.8%.

Chart comparing the construction industry in Windsor-Essex to from January 2019 to June 2020

(Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0097-01 Employment by industry, three-month moving average, unadjusted for seasonality, census metropolitan areas (x 1,000)).

In the Windsor CMA, jobs in construction are up 22.58% in June as compared to May. The Construction industry had been down over the past few months as compared to the same time period in the previous year. In April 2019, we saw the Windsor CMA with 9,400 construction jobs versus 8,400 in April 2020. In May 2019, there were 10,900 construction jobs versus 9,300 in May 2020. We do see the numbers returning to where they were the previous year in June, with 11,400 construction jobs in June 2020 as compared to 11,900 construction jobs in June 2019. This could be because as businesses are permitted to reopen, they are creating opportunities for the Construction industry.

If you are interested in and able to work in an essential workplace in Windsor-Essex, join the Essential Worker Registry. If you are qualified to work in the health sector, visit the Ontario Government’s Workforce Matching Portal where the government is taking a lead role in coordination.

 

 


THE FINDINGS OF THIS REPORT WERE SOURCED FROM:

MONTHLY JOB DEMAND REPORT

ABOUT THIS REPORT:

As of April 2019, the monthly Job Demand Report for Windsor-Essex is created by Workforce WindsorEssex using data collected from 14 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.