Vacant job postings in Windsor-Essex nearing record highs amid labour shortage

Workforce WindsorEssex says the number of job postings in the region is nearing a record high.

According to CEO Justin Falconer, the organization — which aggregates open job listings from various sectors across the region — has seen between 6,500 to 6,800 postings since April.

The record, he said, is about 7,000 job postings open at one time.

"We're seeing postings in pretty much all sectors, but certainly [in] construction, health and social services, public administration, we've seen a lot of sort of growth and expansion in those sectors," said Falconer.

The unemployment rate in Windsor was 6.5 per cent as of July 2022 — which translates to an estimated 12,000 people out of work, said Falconer, adding that number is down from last year when 18,000 to 20,000 people were unemployed.

The result is more employers finding it difficult to find "the perfect candidate," especially as older employees retire.

"If you're looking to do better in terms of getting unemployment even lower, you're looking at training, you're looking at supporting new hires, giving people their first job, just going that extra mile just to get new talent into the workforce because more and more people are exiting," said Falconer.

Falconer added both employers and job seekers need to compromise since each party's standards "hardly ever intersect." But it's imperative for employers to offer new things to prospective employers and communicate those clearly in job postings.

"If I'm an employer and I'm struggling to fill in-demand positions, I'm going to be looking at doing that maybe a little bit differently now," he said.

"My advice is say more in your job description, tell people about what it's like to work for you, tell them about what's a requirement versus what's an asset of the job — and be clear about that."

At The Job Shoppe, an agency which matches people with employment opportunities, management say they have seen an "uptick" in job postings from its clients.

The Job Shoppe president Meighen Nehme in Windsor, Ont. on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)While much of the reason why can be attributed to a retiring workforce, The Job Shoppe president Meighen Nehme said it's also because there a lot of newcomers in Windsor.

Nehme estimates about 50 per cent of people who walk through the doors of The Job Shoppe and are seeking employment are newcomers to Canada.

"There are newer people coming to our city who are newer-skilled. I think, from an employer's perspective, there's so many things that employers need to do to attract candidates right now," said Nehme.

For starters, according to Nehme, the high number of job postings have created an "employee's market" and companies are far too slow selecting candidates before another company swoops in at the last second.

"Employers need to be really quick in the in the recruitment process. We're seeing some employers that are taking two weeks to fill spots. That's because they have this rigorous interview process," she said.

More employment vacancies also mean candidates have the power to pick the type of job they want.

According to Nehme, that means candidates are doing further research on a specific company rather than taking a job out of desperation.

"The first place they're going is online. They're looking at your company reviews. They're looking at your Indeed reviews and your Google reviews. Employees are telling the story," said Nehme.

For newcomers who may not have the skills necessary to meet the requirements of their desired job, Nehme recommends they try volunteering to start building their network.

But for companies that are unable to find qualified candidates, Nemhe said it's important for employers to work with newcomers so they can be given a fair chance at being a valuable employee.

"We need to open our eyes and we need to work with them a little bit more, provide some internal mentoring and provide some knowledge growth. I think that will help fill some of these gaps."

This week, Statistics Canada reported the number of job vacancies climbed 3.2 per cent in June, reaching a new high as employers looked to fill more than one million positions for a third consecutive month.

The agency said employers were actively seeking to fill 1,037,900 positions compared with 1,005,700 in May.

The job vacancy rate was 5.9 per cent in June, matching the record-high mark reached in September 2021 and up from 4.9 per cent in June 2021.

The Job Shoppe in Windsor, Ont. on Friday, Aug. 26, 2022. (Sanjay Maru/CTV News Windsor)