This monthly update to the Employment Prospect Series provides an overview of new job opportunities in the Niagara region. These jobs are categorized into the level of education that is typically required for these jobs; this definition is based on Statistics Canada’s 2016 National Occupational Classification matrix.[1]
This update also takes into account local context and provincial actions/policy changes made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In June of 2020, provincial emergency orders were extended until at least July 10. Provincial policy changes to combat COVID-19 included a notice that limited in-person education and training could restart in July for students that were not able to graduate due to COVID-19, an increase in the size of social circles, and a notice that Niagara could enter Stage 2 reopening on June 19. This reopening date coincides with Week 3 of this report.
This update outlines new online job posts for the four weeks following the May Employment Prospect Series blog which covered April 26 – May 30, 2020. Specifically, these data show jobs posted between May 31 and June 27, 2020. As a note, as of June 2020 NWPB changed data sources for job aggregation tools. Thus, these data should not be directly compared to previous reports but taken within the context of this given month and data source. Nevertheless, these data continue on with previous trends that indicate slow increases to available jobs with COVID-19 related-restrictions being lifted.
Figure 1: New Job Posts, Niagara, June 2020
Though job demand tends to be fairly low, it is important to note that there were still new job opportunities being posted by employers. Table 1 outlines the top occupation categories that were posted and their level of required education.
Table 1: Top 5 In-Demand Jobs by Required Level of Education, June 2020
Table 2 outlines the number of jobs that existed in Niagara for each of these top occupations and the estimated hourly wage ranges for 2019. Note that because these data are from 2019, they do not reflect any changes or impacts from COVID-19. Hourly wages below minimum wage likely reflect part-time work as our data source uses average annual incomes to produce its hourly estimates.
Table 2: Job Counts and Hourly Wages, Niagara
All previous monthly reports are available on NWPB’s website. NWPB also produces quarterly reports alongside our monthly reports. The quarterly reports provide provincial-level benchmarks for job counts and trends of job growth and decline. It is our hope that these reports will support Niagara’s residents who are looking to enter the workforce or grow their career. If there is a specific occupation of interest to you, or if you have a question beyond the data represented in this report, please contact NWPB’s CEO, Vivian Kinnaird.
[1]: http://cnp.edsc.gc.ca/English/NOC/Matrix2016.aspx?ver=06%u2282%3D0