Labour Market Insights

Emerging from Lockdown and Stay at Home Orders: The Impact of COVID-19 on Job Search and Demand in Windsor-Essex for February 2021

As of February 16, 2021, Windsor-Essex was moved out of Grey-Lockdown and into Red-Control in Ontario’s COVID-19 Response Framework and the Stay at Home order was lifted.

Under the Red-Control tier, restaurants are able to serve patrons indoors (maximum of ten), sports and recreational fitness facilities can reopen, and non-essential retail stores can open to 50% capacity. The job search and demand data for Windsor-Essex certainly aligns with a gradual reopening in these sectors.

February 2021 saw 3,225 active job postings from 1,918 companies, consistent with the previous month’s 3,218 total active job postings from 1,982 companies. The Job Board received 18,270 interactions (a decrease of 14.15% from 20,856 interactions in January) from 7,153 users (a decrease of 9.3% from the previous month).

The top searched-for occupations overall in Windsor-Essex for February 2021 were:

Top Searched For Occupations Overall for Windsor-Essex in February 2021

Retail Salespersons, Administrative Assistants, Other Customer and Information Services Representatives, Material Handlers, and Delivery and Courier Service Drivers.

The top searched-for occupations by men in Windsor-Essex for February 2021 were:

Top Searched For Occupations by men for Windsor-Essex in February 2021

Material Handlers; Retail Salespersons; Delivery and Courier Service Drivers; Other Labourers in Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities; and Shippers and Receivers.

The top searched-for occupations by women in Windsor-Essex for February 2021 were:

Top Searched For Occupations by women for Windsor-Essex in February 2021

Administrative Assistants; Retail Salespersons; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations; and Receptionists.

February 2021 saw an increase in men searching for Shippers and Receivers occupations on the Job Board. Shippers and Receivers ship, receive, and record the movement of parts, supplies, materials, equipment, and stock to and from an establishment. They are employed in the public sector and by retail and wholesale establishments, manufacturing companies, and other commercial and industrial establishments. With the province slowly opening back up, and with an increase in moving goods, it makes sense that Shippers and Receivers would receive more attention on the Job Board.

The top ten in-demand occupations by local employers for February 2021 were:

Top ten in-demand occupations in Windsor-Essex for February 2021

Retail Salespersons; Transport Truck Drivers; Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations; Material Handlers; Nursery and Greenhouse Workers; Delivery and Courier Service Drivers; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Janitors, Caretakers and Building Superintendents; Cooks; and Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers.

The top ten in-demand occupations look a bit different this month, with Retail Salespersons being the most in-demand occupation in the region (up 43.5% from 108 job postings in January to 155 job postings in February). The demand for Administrative Assistants has decreased 40% (from 70 job postings in January to 50 in February). Security Guards and Related Security Service Occupations, which was the eighth most in-demand occupation in January with 65 job postings fell to number 29 in February with 27 job postings, a decrease of 140.7%.

February’s list of in-demand occupations tells the story of retail opening back up, without much notice from the province. It also shows restaurants gearing back up again with an increase in demand for Cooks. At the same time, stringent lockdown restrictions from the Grey tier are being relaxed, with less of a demand for Security Guards and Related Security Occupations needed at businesses to enforce COVID-19 safety measures and capacity rules.

Top hiring sectors by six-digit NAICS in Windsor-Essex for February 2021

Looking at the top hiring sectors by six-digit NAICS, we see Nursing Care Facilities hiring less in February than in January (down 20.5% from 88 job postings in January to 73 in February).

Other sectors such as Hardware Stores and Landscaping Services are seeing an increase in job postings, due to preparing for upcoming seasonal demands.

Top hiring sectors in Windsor-Essex by two-digit NAICS for February 2021

The top hiring sectors by two-digit NAICS shows Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services steady as the top hiring sector, but it is important to note that this sector includes job postings from employment agencies, which is why it consistently appears high up on the list.

The Retail Trade sector saw an increase in demand, up 30% from 286 job postings in January to 372 in February, further demonstrating how Windsor-Essex is adapting to the Red-Control tier with retail permitted to reopen. Arts, Entertainment and Recreation, although the numbers are smaller (with eight job postings in January and 19 in February), saw a 137.5% increase, as gyms reopened as part of the Red-Control tier.

 


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.