Labour Market Insights
Preparing for Summer and Looking Forward to the Roadmap to Reopen: Top Occupations and In-Demand Jobs for Windsor-Essex for May 2021
Most of May saw the public health restrictions put in place in April continue, including Stay at Home orders and the return to virtual learning. On May 20, the Ontario Government released the Roadmap to Reopen. Through this Roadmap, health measures will be gradually lifted based on the province wide vaccination rate and improvements in key public health and health care indicators.
As of May 22, more outdoor recreational amenities were reopened, including golf courses, sports fields, tennis and basketball courts, splash and spray pads, and skate parks. The limit for outdoor gatherings was raised to five people.
Looking ahead, on June 1, the Ontario Government announced that the province will maintain COVID-19 restrictions, as Stay at Home orders set to expire on June 2, meaning all other public health and workplace measures remain in place until Ontario enters Step One of Roadmap to Reopen, currently slated for June 14 according to the Reopening Ontario webpage.
In Step One of the Roadmap to Reopen, we will see outdoor dining for up to four people; essential retail capacity at 25%; non-essential retail capacity at 15%; outdoor gatherings for up to 10 people; and outdoor sports, fitness, and personal training for up to 10 people.
May 2021 saw 4,561 total active job postings from 1,569 companies for an increase of 7.19% over the previous month’s 4,255 total active job postings. The Job Board received 19,481 interactions (an increase of 23.55% from 15,768 interactions in April) from 6,434 users (an increase of 4.9% from the previous month).
The top searched-for occupations overall in Windsor-Essex for May 2021 were:
Administrative Assistants; Material Handlers; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Retail Salespersons; and Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations.
The top searched-for occupations by men in Windsor-Essex for May 2021 were:
Material Handlers; Retail Salespersons; Transport Truck Drivers; Delivery and Courier Service Drivers; and Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations.
The top searched-for occupations by women in Windsor-Essex for May 2021 were:
Administrative Assistants; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Social and Community Service Workers; Retail Salespersons; and Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations.
There is an increase in search interactions for Social and Community Service Workers occupations this month. Social and Community Service Workers administer and implement a variety of social assistance programs and community services and assist clients in dealing with personal and social problems. They are employed by social service and government agencies, mental health agencies, group homes, shelters, substance abuse centres, school boards, correctional facilities, and other establishments.
The top 10 in-demand occupations by local employers for May 2021 were:
Transport Truck Drivers; Retail Salespersons; Material Handlers; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations; Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations; Cooks; Retail and Wholesale Trade Managers; Delivery and Courier Service Drivers; and Store Shelf Stockers, Clerks and Order Fillers.
The increase in demand for Cooks (up 10.47% from 86 postings in April to 95 postings in May) and Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations (up 21.69% from 83 postings in April to 101 in May) indicate that local employers in the Accommodation and Food Services sector are looking ahead and preparing for the summer season and potential further easing of restrictions scheduled to begin in mid-June. Employers, however, are exercising caution as these two in-demand occupations, along with the steady demand for Delivery and Courier Service Drivers, indicate that restaurants and other establishments will still focus on takeout and delivery options over in-person dining for the time being.
The top hiring sectors by six-digit NAICS show an increase over the previous month in hiring for Limited-Service Eating Places (up 40% from 85 job postings in April to 119 in May) and Full-Service Restaurants (up 25.35% from 71 job postings in April to 89 in May). While the Accommodation and Food Services Sector is not at pre-pandemic levels (10,700 employed in the sector in the Windsor CMA in May 2019 versus 9,500 employed in April 2021 according to StatsCan), it is encouraging to see the increase in demand.
The top hiring sectors by two-digit NAICS show that hiring for Accommodation and Food Services increased 32.61% (from 184 job postings in April to 244 in May). Additionally, there is a small increase in the hard-hit Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Sector (from 19 job postings in April to 28 in May). The restrictions expected to lift in Step One of the Roadmap to Reopen in mid-June would allow for outdoor sports, fitness, and personal training for up to 10 people and outdoor recreational amenities will be open. Indoor use is open only to high-performance athletes, social services, and physical therapy.
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.