Skip to content
For the first time since May, employment in Ontario decreased. Of the 12.4 million people in the province, 7.3 million were employed in December 2020. The second provincial lockdown due to COVID-19 was likely a significant factor in decreased employment and increased unemployment rates.
Here is a quick market summary report of Ontario’s employment outlook for December 2020, compiled by our HR experts at Nova Staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government December 2020 Labour market report.
Employment Outlook
Employment in Ontario took a hit in December, dropping for the first time since May when the pandemic was at the peak. This was likely due to the second provincial wide lockdown that officially started on December 26th. Employment decreased by 11,900 jobs in December, down 0.2% from November.
Unemployment saw an increase in December after decreasing the previous month. In December, there were 762,500 unemployed people in Ontario, up 3.9% from the previous month.
Employment by Age
Youth Employment (15–24) continued to be the most impacted by the pandemic in December, with unemployment sitting at 20.9%. This was up slightly from 20.2% in November. Employment did increase in this demographic, though, with 15,400 new jobs.
Adult Employment (25-54) was hit hard in December, losing 35,300 jobs, though unemployment stayed at 7.6%. Senior Employment (55+) increased by 8,000 jobs. Unemployment unfortunately also increased to 7.2% from 6.5% the previous month.
Employment by Sector
Certain sectors continued to be hit harder than others. The second lockdown meant only certain businesses deemed essential were allowed to operate fully. This resulted in some seeing employment gains while others continued to drop below pre-COVID levels.
The sectors with the biggest employment growth in December were Forestry, Fishing, Mining, Quarrying, and Oil (+7.1%), Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental and Leasing (+4.2%), Manufacturing (+3.9%), and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services (+3.1%).
The sectors that struggled to regain their pre-COVID-19 employment levels in December were, Accommodation and Food Services (-23.9%), Business, Building, and Other Support Services (-18%), Transportation and Warehousing (-13.2%), and Other Services (except Public Admin.) (-8.1%).
Employment by Region
Due to the second lockdown, employment levels in many of Ontario’s CMA’s fell between November and December. Some of Ontario’s biggest cities, such as St. Catharine’s-Niagara and Toronto, saw employment levels drop for the first time in months. The regions that saw employment increase in December were: Hamilton (2.2%), Kingston (1.6%), London (1.4%), Peterborough (1%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (1%), and Thunder Bay (0.2%).
If you’re looking for staffing solutions, contact Nova Staffing today! We’re one of the best employment agencies in the GTA and have a team of HR experts ready to help you with all of your employment needs.
No comment yet, add your voice below!