Labour Market Insights
Preparing for Stage 2: COVID-19’s Impact on the Windsor-Essex Job Market for May 2020
As of June 12, Ontario will be entering Stage 2 of the Ontario government’s plan to reopen the province. Windsor-Essex, however, was not on the list of regions permitted to move forward to Stage 2.
This, coupled with the Windsor CMA’s continued high unemployment rate (16.7% in May 2020 and holding the highest unemployment rate of all CMAs in the country since January), positions the region’s economy in a very delicate state. With less businesses permitted to open, there is a reduced number of job opportunities available to jobseekers.
We’re taking a look at how job search and demand has shifted in May 2020 as the region’s businesses cope with an unknown timeline to move into Stage 2.
In May 2020, we saw 10,600 interactions from 6,288 users on the Job Board: 39.7% (2,689) were male, 30.8% (2,085) were female, 29.4% (1,992) were unknown, and 0.2% (13) identified as Other.
Note that users on the Job Board were up 11.5% for the month of May 2020 from April. The increase in users may be due to some provincial restrictions being lifted in mid-May for Stage 1 and some businesses being permitted to reopen.
Of the male users, 39.6% were looking for full time work, 58.5% were looking for part time work, and 1.8% were looking at all jobs.
Of the female users, 50.3% were looking for full time work, 44.7% were looking for part time, and 5% were looking at all jobs.
The top five occupations receiving the most interactions for May 2020 were: Administrative Assistant, Retail Salespersons, Material Handlers, Other Customer and Information Services Representatives, and Delivery and Courier Service Drivers.
This month saw an increase in those interested in Administrative Assistant jobs. This could be because Administrative Assistant jobs can largely be done working from home as the pandemic continues.
Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations fell from number three with 425 interactions in April to number seven with 211 interactions in May, a decrease of 50.35%. This could be attributed to outbreaks in long-term care homes and a decreased interest in working in this sector due to COVID-19.
Interest in Cooks fell further this month. In March 2020, Cooks were number three on the top occupations list, with 420 interactions, falling to number 15 in April with 177 interactions. In May, Cooks fell to number 24 with 95 interactions, down 77.38% from the beginning of the pandemic in March. This could be due to restrictions in the Accommodation and Food Services sector remaining largely the same in Windsor-Essex since the region was not approved to move into Stage 2 of the Ontario government’s recovery plan because of the high number of active COVID-19 cases in the region.
Additionally, according to public opinion data collected by Abacus in early May, 25-30% of Canadians intend to avoid restaurants and malls until a vaccine for COVID-19 is available. Most other Canadians indicated they will only go to these establishments with measures in place, including regular cleaning and limited occupancy. It would make sense that if many Canadians have concerns about going to a restaurant to dine, many would also feel uneasy about working in a restaurant at this time.
Breaking down the top five occupations further, the top five occupations differ quite a bit between male and female users.
While Retail Salespersons ranked high on both lists, male users were more interested in working in the trades.
Based on this search data, female users were more interested in customer service and office work.
The top ten in-demand occupations for May 2020 were: Retail Salespersons; Home Support Workers, Housekeepers and Related Occupations; Transport Truck Drivers; Nursery and Greenhouse Workers; Other Customer and Information Services Representatives; Administrative Assistants; Material Handlers; Delivery and Courier Service Drivers; Cooks; and Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations.
We are starting to see a shift in the in-demand jobs as more businesses in the region look forward to and plan for additional provincial restrictions to be lifted. April 2020 saw more demand for occupations such as Light Duty Cleaners and Security Service Occupations, while May 2020 shows more demand for Cooks and Food Counter Attendants, Kitchen Helpers and Related Support Occupations.
Although we can see a shift in demand for different occupations, May’s top ten in-demand occupations are still very much in line with what the Ontario government has deemed as essential workplaces. This shift, however, also reflects places that can open in Stage 2 of the Ontario government’s reopening plan, such as restaurants, bars, and shopping malls and centres.
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.
