From Brittney Windatt and Strac Ivanov 

Following an increase in September, Statistics Canada reports an employment decline of 54,000 in October – all in full time, and predominantly in Ontario.  October’s loss pushed the unemployment rate up 0.2 percentage points to 7.3 percent.

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Our community partners at Sheridan College in Oakville have just sent us information about a free workshop for employers that they are hosting in partnership with the Peel Halton Workforce Development Group, titled “A World of Talen at Your Doorsteps”. The workshop’s focus is on recruiting and retain immigrants, in light of the fact that by 2013, immigration to Canada will account for virtually all of the net job growth. (more…)

from Brittney Windatt

The month of May brought a 1.6 percent increase in total employment over the previous 12 months, causing unemployment to drop 0.2 percent to 7.4 percent.  But a closer look paints a less optimistic picture: The increase in employment for the month of May was driven largely by a decline in the number of people looking for work and by more people becoming self-employed.  Private sector jobs growth remains weak.
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March 2011 was largely dominated by bad news for the economy: Most notably the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the deepening of the Libyan conflict. The disaster in Japan hit Canada’s local economy by disrupting the supply chains of local manufacturers. In Ontario, the impact on the automotive sector was particularly severe. The Honda plant in Alliston, for example, cut production by more than 50% indefinitely, apparently because the Japanese disaster made it impossible for it to source electrical parts that go into vehicles it assembles. The Libyan crisis also lead to some (potential as well as real) disruptions in the oil supply.  Employers typically respond to such signs of uncertainty by placing hiring decision on the backburner until the future becomes more clear (and brighter). So it was quite refreshing to see that Canada’s job market did actually quite well in March.
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The Peel Halton Workforce Development Group, in partnership with Sheridan College and other government-sponsored employment services organizations in Peel and Halton Regions, are hosting their annual Peel and Halton job fair in Mississauga on March 30th. They are now looking for employers interested in participating in the event.

This event is partially funded by Employment Ontario, so the cost to employers is fairly low - $150 for “virtual” participation and $500 for an actual booth, and provides an opportunity to meet thousands of job seekers. If you are interested, you can find out more at the web site of the event, at:

http://www.peelhaltonjobfair.ca

You can also click here to download an electronic brochure introducing the event

Our community partners at Sheridan College are hosting a free workshop for employers titled “Are you ready? on November 24th 2010, in partnership with the other Greater Toronto Area (GTA) community colleges, including Centennial, Durham, Humber, George Brown, Seneca. This is a full-day workshop, dealing with the challenges involved in effectively recruiting and hiring qualified immigrants. It is designed to help employers to improve their cultural competence by:

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On November 5th, 2010, Statistics Canada published the October result of its monthly labour market survey. It seems to indicate that the job market recovery has almost stalled, at a time of the year that is normally be characterized by steady job creation. The Vicinity Jobs hiring demand numbers from October also show that hiring pulled down sharply from its peak a month ago. What is unusual this time around is that other economic indicators – such as stock price indices – point to an overall economic recovery.

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According to a newly released report from Statistics Canada, the average weekly employment earnings rose 4.4% to $860.67 from August 2009 to August 2010. This is seen as a sign of strength in the economy, because the last time this growth exceeded 4% was in February 2008.
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A new survey of the Conference Board of Canada projects that due to the unsteady economic recovery, organizations are planning moderate base pay increases in 2011. Non-union employees are expected to see average increases of 2.8% in base pay. Increases in the private sector will be larger than those in public sector – but will vary significantly between different industries and between provinces. Ontario will see the lowest rate of increases in Canada.
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On the face of it, the July unemployment numbers released by Statistics Canada on August 6, 2010 look quite disappointing: Unemployment increased across Canada, growing from 7.9% to 8%. The only bright spot really seemed to be Western Canada (whose economy is strongly dependant on the resource industries and on the commodity market trends). Unemployment in BC dipped 0.3 percentage points from 7.8% to 7.5%. However, hiring demand that that VicinityJobs.com gathers suggests that the worsening is unlikely to persist – at least in the Greater Toronto Area. (more…)