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Employment in Ontario continues to increase after a significant hit due to COVID-19. However, this month saw a decrease in growth, with unemployment rising for the first time in months. The total number of hours working in Ontario in the month of October was also down in all sectors, likely due to the second wave of the pandemic hitting the province.
Here is a quick report outlining Ontario’s employment outlook summary for October 2020, compiled by our staffing experts at Nova Staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government October 2020 Labour market report.
Employment Outlook
Employment in Ontario increased in the month of October, with 7.3 million residents employed (59%). This is up 30,600 jobs from September, which is only a 0.4% increase. This is a slower growth compared to September, which saw a 2.4% increase.
Unemployment unfortunately also increased in October. There were 768,000 residents in Ontario unemployed, which is a 1.4% increase compared to last month. This increase is likely due to the second wave of the pandemic hitting the province.
Employment by Age
Youth employment, those aged 15-24, was hit the hardest during the pandemic and this age demographic continues to be the slowest to recover to their pre-COVID numbers. In October, 22.1% of this demographic was unemployed; however, employment is gaining slowly, with 13,100 new jobs in the month.
Adult employment has been faring better, with 22,900 new jobs in October. However, unemployment in this demographic was 7.5% in October, up from 7.3% in September. Senior employment took a hit in October, losing 5,300 jobs with unemployment increasing to 7.3%, up from 7.1%.
Employment by Sector
Restrictions during the pandemic meant certain industries were hit harder than others. Over half of the job losses between February and May were concentrated in four sectors, and these have accounted for 62.2% of the jobs gained since May.
Certain sectors have struggled to return to their pre-COVID-19 levels. Transportation and Warehousing (−16.2%), Accommodation and Food Services (−15.7%), Business, Building and Other support services (−13.7%), Agriculture (-11.3%), and Construction (-8.7%) have all had the most loss and continue to be the furthest from their pre-pandemic numbers.
Meanwhile, other sectors have bounced back more quickly. Employment was above pre-COVID February levels in Forestry, Fishing, Mining, Quarrying, Oil, and Gas (12.5%), Professional, Scientific and Technical services (3.6%), Manufacturing (1.5%) and Finance, Insurance, Real estate, Rental and Leasing (1.1%).
Employment by Region
Employment gains continue to differ based on the region in October. Urban areas were hit hard, and many are still struggling with high case numbers and unemployment. These areas are seeing the highest employment growth, however. St. Catharine’s and Niagara saw the highest employment gains in October with a 3.1% increase. Toronto followed with a 2.8% increase, then Oshawa (+2.5%), Thunder Bay (+2.1%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+1.8%), and Kingston (+1.2%).
Are you a job seeker or business looking for hiring solutions? Contact Nova Staffing today! We’re one of the best staffing agencies in the GTA and have a team of HR experts ready to help you with all of your employment needs.
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