Ontario Employment Outlook: June 2021 Report

Employment in Ontario improved in June, after three consecutive months of it going down. This was likely due to the extended provincial-wide stay-at-home order being lifted. Ontario also entered Stage 2 of opening on June 30th, meaning many businesses, such as restaurants, started rehiring. 

 

Here is a look at how employment in Ontario was impacted in June 2021, compiled by our hiring experts at Nova Staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government June 2021 Labour Market report. 

 

 

Employment Summary

Ontario had 7.3 million (59.2%) employed individuals in June 2021, up by 116,900 from May, which was a 1.6% increase. Employment was still below its pre-COVID-19 February 2021 levels by -2.5%.

 

Unemployment also decreased in June to 8.4%, down from 9.3% in May. In total, 668,000 people were unemployed, down 8.8% from the previous month. 

 

Employment by Age

Youth employment (15-24) continued to be the furthest from its pre-COVID levels, but it did drastically improve in June. Youth employment increased by 85,700 jobs, and unemployment dropped to 17.2% from 20.7% in May. 

 

Adult employment (25-54) also saw improvement, with a 20,000-job increase. Unemployment dropped from 7% in May down to 6.5% in June. Senior employment (55+) saw gains as well. Senior employment increased by 11,100 jobs, and unemployment went down to 8.3%. 

 

Employment by Sector

Certain industries were hit harder by COVID-19 due to government shutdowns of those deemed non-essential. Sectors that were hit the hardest and were the furthest from their pre-COVID levels in June were Accommodation and Food Services (-100.8%), Wholesale and Retail Trade (-42.3%), Business, Building, and Other Support Services (-33.3%), and Construction (-32.1%).

 

Not all sectors struggled, though. Many Ontario industries saw employment growth in June, led by Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (+70.2%), Public Administration (+22.9%), Health Care and Social Assistance (+9.7%), and Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental, and Leasing (+4.9%).

 

Employment by Region

Ontario saw employment gains in seven on its 16 CMAs. Regions with the most employment growth were led by Toronto (+10.4%) and followed by Ottawa-Gatineau (+6%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (+0.5%), London (+0.4%), Thunder Bay (+0.3%), Barrie (+0.2%), and Greater Sudbury (+0.1%). 

 

Other regions in Ontario saw employment loss, including Hamilton (-6.6%), Belleville (-5.1%), St.Catharines-Niagara (-4.1%), Kingston (-2.4%), Oshawa (-1.8%), Brantford (-1.7%), Windsor (-1.5%), Guelph (-0.8%), Peterborough (-0.3%). 

 

Is your company looking for help hiring top talent or need staffing solutions? Contact Nova Staffing! Our team of employment experts has over 200 years of combined industry experience and is here to help.

 

8 Tips for Weeding Out Bad Candidates During the Hiring Process

Recruiting new hires for your company can be time-consuming and frustrating, especially when you’re looking for experienced, quality candidates. Hiring the wrong candidate not only means you’ll have to go through the hiring process again, but it can also cost your company money. That’s why employers need to learn how to identify and weed out the bad candidates during the hiring process. According to our recruitment experts at Nova Staffing, here are a few tips on how to do this.

 

Use Job Application as a Test

The job application is the first step in the hiring process, and it can tell you a lot about the candidates if you know what to look for. One of the fastest ways you can screen potential hires is to see if they actually filled out the job application in full. Candidates who do the bare minimum, don’t fill out the entire application, or don’t follow the simple instructions are people you can weed out early on.

 

Look at Their Attention to Detail

When looking at a candidate’s CV or resume, don’t just look at things such as past experience or skills. Take the time to look at smaller things to see their attention to detail. Did they fill out the job application correctly? Is their resume filled with grammar mistakes and spelling errors? A few small things are fine, but if an employee doesn’t make an effort to properly follow steps or edit their CV, they’re probably not someone you want working for your company.

 

Is Their Resume Curated?

One good way to weed out candidates interested in any job and those interested in this job is to see who actually took the time to curate their resume. Potential hires that make an effort to tailor their resume to the job they’re hiring for are more likely to be interested and stick around than those that just send over a generic one.

 

Examine Work Experience

Past work experience is one of the best ways to tell whether a candidate is qualified for the open position or not. But don’t just look at their previous companies and titles. Pay attention to what their actual duties were. It’s also a good idea to look at how long they held these previous positions. Candidates that have held multiple jobs in a year without mitigating reasons are a red flag. Either they’re not pleasant to work with, or they aren’t planning on staying at your company long.

 

Look for Accomplishments Instead of Duties

When you’re looking at a candidate’s previous experience, pay attention to what they say. Do they simply list their duties, or do they explain what they learned or accomplished? Being good at a job is about more than ticking boxes. You want candidates that generate results! Toss aside any resumes that read like a list of tasks.

 

Check Their Social Media

Looking at a candidate’s social media profiles during the hiring process might be controversial, but this person will be representing your company, so you should see how they present themselves online. Don’t make the mistake of hiring someone only to find out after that they post things on social media that don’t match with your company’s value. It could be a PR disaster. You should especially check out their LinkedIn to see whether their resume matches up or not.

 

Ask Unexpected Questions

Most people prepare for an interview, but you want to dig beyond the polish. Candidates are usually prepared for the basic interview questions like “what are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?”. Try asking questions that are outside of the box that will give you a real insight into who they are and whether they’ll thrive in your company culture. Some good ones are “what is your biggest pet peeve?”, “what makes a good co-worker to you?” and “what drives you to wake up in the morning?”

 

Hire a Professional Agency

Companies can do tons of things to try to weed out poor candidates when hiring, but not all employers have the time or resources to do it. A professional recruitment agency is trained and experienced to find quality candidates. At Nova Staffing, our team has over 200 years of combined industry experience. We know how to find quality hires that will elevate your company.

 

If you’re looking for hiring help, contact us today! Our team of employment experts at Nova Staffing is here to help with all of your staffing needs.

 

5 Ways to Simplify the Hiring Process

Hiring is a complex and time-consuming process. Every company wants talented employees but recruiting them isn’t always straightforward. It’s easy for employers to get overwhelming with recruitment efforts, so here are a few tips to simplify the process from our HR experts at Nova Staffing.

 

Focus on Company Needs and Wants

Before you start the hiring process, it’s important to know what you’re looking for. Thinking through your hiring goals beforehand will make it easier to know when you’ve accomplished them. Take the time to list what you need and want out of a candidate, and then go from there.

 

Make Job Listings Simple and Straightforward

A lot of companies tend to overthink job listings. While there is an art to a good job description, what matters is that it’s simple and clear. Potential employees should know exactly what job they’re applying for, what their duties would be, and any job requirements.

 

Make Applying Easy

There’s nothing that turns off quality candidates more than making the application process difficult. Potential employees should know exactly how they can apply if interested. Companies should make sure that their application portal is easy to use and in working order.

 

Communicate Clearly

How a company communicates says a lot about them, and employees know this. Quality talent isn’t going to be very interested in a job if it takes a business a long time to get back to them or if their communication is vague. Make sure whoever is in charge of hiring is getting back to candidates in a timely, clear, and professional manner.

 

Use a Hiring Agency

Hiring agencies like Nova Staffing specialize in recruitment. They can help your company seamlessly navigate the process, from writing job descriptions, posting job listings, reading applications, interviewing candidates, and even training new hires. At Nova Staffing, our team of hiring experts has over 200 years of industry experience. We know how to make the hiring process as simple and smooth as possible for both companies and candidates.

 

Contact us today if you’re looking for help with your staffing needs! Our team of employment experts has decades of experience and is ready to help your company.