Labour Market Insights
Agriculture and Transportation & Warehousing Sectors: Top Occupations and In-Demand Jobs for Windsor-Essex for January 2025
In January 2025, the Windsor-Essex region witnessed a notable shift in the labour market. While job postings are down over the past month, we have seen an increase in jobseeker activity on the Job Board. This indicates that people are looking for new work in the new year, but companies are not hiring at a rate they were in the past. In fact, active job postings are down 40.3% from 4,304 total active job postings in January 2024 to 2,568 in January 2025 and down 34.0% from 3,041 new job postings in January 2024 to 2,008 in January 2025. Month-over-month, however, we did see an increase in new job postings for January 2025 over December 2024.
This month, we’re seeing increased activity in certain sectors, including in Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting, reflecting robust growth in local agriculture activities. We’re also seeing increased demand in the Transportation and Warehousing sector, highlighting the region’s expanding logistics needs.
In January 2025, there were 2,568 total active job postings from 1,092 companies for a decrease of 5% in total active job postings from the previous month. The number of new job postings increased by 76% from December, with 2,008 new jobs posted in January. The Job Board received 29,391 job post clicks, up 47% from the previous month.
The top 15 searched-for occupations overall in Windsor-Essex for January 2025 on the Job Board were:
| Ranking | Searched Overall in January 2025 | Number of Search Instances (January 2025) | Net Change from December 2024 | % Change from December 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Retail Salespersons and Visual Merchandisers | 1,377 | +486 | +54.6% |
| 2 | Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers | 1,187 | +335 | +39.3% |
| 3 | Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations | 1,130 | +210 | +22.8% |
| 4 | Material Handlers | 1,109 | +347 | +45.5% |
| 5 | Administrative Assistants | 885 | +456 | +106.3% |
| 6 | Other Customer and Information Services Representatives | 880 | +376 | +74.6% |
| 7 | Administrative Officers | 632 | +296 | +88.1% |
| 8 | Receptionists | 618 | +207 | +50.4% |
| 9 | Cashiers | 588 | +288 | +96.0% |
| 10 | Delivery Service Drivers and Door-to-Door Distributors | 501 | -159 | -24.1% |
| 11 | Other Labourers in Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities | 476 | +260 | +120.4% |
| 12 | Human Resources Professionals | 407 | -162 | -66.1% |
| 13 | Janitors, Caretakers and Heavy-Duty Cleaners | 401 | +142 | +54.8% |
| 14 | Home Support Workers, Caregivers and Related Occupations | 397 | +19 | +5.0% |
| 15 | Light Duty Cleaners | 394 | +105 | +36.3% |
These numbers are specific to the Job Board. To learn more about the occupations listed in these tables, visit the Career Library.
Occupations that saw a significant increase in interactions on the Job Board in January as compared to December include Other Labourers in Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities (up 120.4%); Administrative Assistants (up 106.3%); Cashiers (up 96.0%); Administrative Officers (up 88.1%); and Other Customer and Information Services Representatives (up 74.6%).
Occupations that saw a significant decrease in interactions on the Job Board in January as compared to December include Human Resources Professionals (down 66.1%) and Delivery Service Drivers and Door-to-Door Distributors (down 24.1%).
The top 20 in-demand occupations by local employers for January 2025 were:
| Ranking | In-Demand Occupation for January 2025 | Posting Count (January 2025) | Net Change from December 2024 | % Change from December 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transport Truck Drivers | 99 | +16 | +19.3% |
| 2 | Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations | 94 | 0 | 0% |
| 3 | Retail Salespersons and Visual Merchandisers | 83 | -20 | -19.4% |
| 4 | Cooks | 56 | -3 | -5.1% |
| 5 | Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses | 52 | -13 | -20.0% |
| 6 | Home Support Workers, Caregivers and Related Occupations | 48 | -9 | -15.8% |
| 7 | Retail and Wholesale Trade Managers | 48 | -6 | -11.1% |
| 8 | Food Service Supervisors | 47 | -7 | -13.0% |
| 9 | Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers | 41 | -32 | -43.8% |
| 10 | Material Handlers | 39 | -1 | -2.5% |
| 11 | Administrative Officers | 36 | +1 | +2.9% |
| 12 | Administrative Assistants | 34 | -3 | -8.1% |
| 13 | Other Customer and Information Services Representatives | 31 | -6 | -16.2% |
| 14 | Nursery and Greenhouse Labourers | 31 | +11 | +55.0% |
| 15 | Program Leaders and Instructors in Recreation, Sport and Fitness | 30 | -7 | -18.9% |
| 16 | Harvesting Labourers | 29 | +4 | +16.0% |
| 17 | Retail Sales Supervisors | 28 | -1 | -3.5% |
| 18 | Restaurant and Food Service Managers | 27 | -19 | -41.3% |
| 19 | Janitors, Caretakers and Heavy-Duty Cleaners | 26 | +3 | +13.0% |
| 20 | Accounting Technicians and Bookkeepers | 25 | -6 | -19.4% |
Occupations that saw an increase in total active job postings in January as compared to December include Nursery and Greenhouse Labourers (up 55.0%); Transport Truck Drivers (up 19.3%); Harvesting Labourers (up 16.0%); Janitors, Caretakers and Heavy-Duty Cleaners (up 13.0%); and Administrative Officers (up 2.9%).
Occupations that saw a decrease in total active job postings in January as compared to December include Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers (down 43.8%); Restaurant and Food Service Managers (down 41.3%); Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses (down 20.0%); Retail Salespersons and Visual Merchandisers (down 19.4%); and Accounting Technicians and Bookkeepers (down 19.4%).
In comparing the most searched-for and most in-demand jobs lists for the region in January, Administrative Officers and Janitors, Caretakers and Heavy-Duty Cleaners both saw increases in search instances and in the number of total active job postings.
Typically, Retail Salespersons and Visual Merchandisers is the most in-demand occupation for the Windsor-Essex region, but this month it fell to third. Retail Salespersons and Visual Merchandisers are still very much in demand, but it is interesting to see Transport Truck Drivers take the lead. We also see in the sector table below that job postings in the Transportation and Warehousing sector are up 1.2% for the region.
Occupations in January 2025’s top in-demand occupations list that don’t usually appear on the list month-over-month include Nursery and Greenhouse Labourers and Harvesting Labourers.
Nursery and Greenhouse Labourers plant, cultivate, and harvest trees, shrubs, flowers, and plants, and serve nursery and greenhouse customers. They are employed in indoor and outdoor nurseries and greenhouses. Regional employers of Nursery and Greenhouse Labourers include Agriville, Boem Berry Farms, Prism Farms, Southshore Greenhouses Inc., and Southshore Greenhouses Inc.
Harvesting Labourers and related workers assist other farm workers to plant, harvest, sort, and pack crops. They participate in soil preparation, irrigation and crop planting, spraying, and thinning. They are employed on fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop farms. Regional employers of Harvesting Labourers include Nature Fresh Farms Inc., Mucci Farms Ltd., West Pointe Greenhouses Ltd., Flavor Fresh Farms Ltd., and Orangeline Farms Limited.
Hiring by 2-Digit NAICS:
| Ranking | NAICS Code | 2-Digit NAICS Label | Posting Count (January 2025) | Net Change from December 2024 | % Change from December 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 62 | Healthcare and Social Assistance | 416 | -12 | -2.8% |
| 2. | 31-33 | Manufacturing | 356 | -28 | -7.3% |
| 3. | 56 | Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services | 351 | +36 | +11.4% |
| 4. | 44-46 | Retail Trade | 323 | -100 | -23.6% |
| 5. | 48-49 | Transportation and Warehousing | 247 | +3 | +1.2% |
| 6. | 72 | Accommodation and Food Services | 235 | -34 | -12.6% |
| 7. | 91 | Public Administration | 176 | +24 | +15.8% |
| 8. | 54 | Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 175 | -40 | -18.6% |
| 9. | 81 | Other Services (Except Public Administration) | 167 | +14 | +19.2% |
| 10. | 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting | 133 | +26 | +24.3% |
| 11. | 52 | Finance and Insurance | 96 | +3 | +3.2% |
| 12. | 23 | Construction | 93 | +9 | +10.7% |
| 13. | 61 | Educational Services | 69 | -9 | -11.5% |
| 14. | 41 | Wholesale Trade | 68 | -5 | -6.9% |
| 15. | 71 | Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | 45 | -15 | -25.0% |
| 16. | 53 | Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 40 | -9 | -18.4% |
| 17. | 51 | Information and Cultural Industries | 15 | -42 | -73.7% |
| 18. | 22 | Utilities | 13 | +4 | +44.4% |
| 19. | 21 | Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction | 4 | -4 | -50.0% |
| 20. | 55 | Management of Companies and Enterprises | 1 | -3 | -75.0% |
In looking at hiring by 2-Digit NAICS, we can see that job postings in the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector is up 24.3%, which would in part be attributed to the increase in hiring for Nursery and Greenhouse Labourers and Harvesting Labourers.
On the other hand, job postings in Information and Cultural Industries declined 73.7%, however that could be attributed to a slower winter season and may see a rebound as we head into warmer months where festivals and events begin to pick up.
Top Growing and Top Declining Sectors
In terms of the Top Growing and Top Declining Sectors for Windsor-Essex for January, we do see some familiar sectors on the Top Growing list:
Looking at the trends over the past year can give us a big picture view of what’s going on in the region. For instance, Transportation and Warehousing has been trending upward over the past year, and we can see that in January with the increase in demand for Transport Truck Drivers.
We do see certain sectors declining, despite the occupations associated with these sectors still very much in-demand in the region. Here we see that the Retail Trade sector has seen a decline over the past year, although Retail Salespersons and Visual Merchandisers is still an in-demand occupation, even though it has declined in January as compared to December.
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 (January 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Windsor Regional Hospital | 30 |
| 2. | Corporation of the City of Windsor | 30 |
| 3. | NextStar Energy | 27 |
| 4. | Starbucks | 24 |
| 5. | Municipality of Leamington | 23 |
| 6. | County of Essex | 22 |
| 7. | Loblaws Companies | 20 |
| 8. | Town of Essex | 20 |
| 9. | Mucci Farms Ltd. | 19 |
| 10. | Shoppers Drug Mart | 18 |
Here we can see where some of the demand for the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector is coming from more specifically (Mucci Farms Ltd.). We can also see that the local municipalities are higher up on the list. We typically see a higher representation of the Retail Trade sector in the companies on this list, however, with the decrease in job postings as a whole for the sector, it makes sense we would see less companies in Retail Trade on the list this month.
THE FINDINGS OF THIS REPORT WERE SOURCED FROM:
MONTHLY JOB DEMAND REPORT
Since 2019, the monthly Job Demand Report for Windsor-Essex has been created by Workforce WindsorEssex using data collected from unique national, provincial, and locally-significant job boards.
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.
