Ontario’s job market is in decline and here’s what’s in store for people seeking work

It’s no wonder that so many job-seekers in Ontario have been having such a seemingly impossible time securing work, as new data from Statistics Canada shows that the number of available positions in the province (and the country at large) has been steadily shrinking for months.

The government arm’s figures on job vacancies in the third quarter of this year, released on Monday, paint a troubling picture for not just those who have been struggling to land a steady gig, but for the entire economy.

The latest figures are especially troubling, coming on the back of the news that the nation’s unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 6.8 per cent, the highest level in eight years.

Ontario not only has the highest unemployment rate of any province — at 7.6 per cent, which was dragged down by Toronto, where this number is a staggering 8.1 per cent — but is also leading the pack for declines in open roles.

There were 5.5 per cent (or 31,900) fewer job vacancies across the country in Q3 compared to the same time last year, but StatCan writes that “the largest declines were concentrated in Ontario, including Toronto (-5,900 to 91,500); Kitchener–Waterloo–Barrie (-3,800 to 16,300); and Hamilton–Niagara Peninsula (-2,900 to 16,100).”

Comparatively, three areas of Quebec saw a slight uptick in the number of job openings, while many regions saw little change.

Still, the is the ninth quarter in a row where fewer and fewer positions are being made available for a growing number of residents without one.

The hardest-hit sectors include the food and beverage industry, which saw a whopping 36.5 per cent drop in job postings from the third quarter of 2023 to the same time this year, as well as the customer service industry, with 40.4 per cent drop in openings.

Retail stores are also cutting back, with 33.7 per cent fewer roles available to salespeople and 41.3 per cent fewer to store shelf stockers, clerks and order fillers. Transport truck drivers, registered nurses, construction labourers and social and community service workers also saw large double-digit reductions year-over-year.

On the flip side, the best bets for landing a job are in firefighting (which saw a gigantic 93.4 per cent in available job growth), financial advising (54.7 per cent), banking and insurance (56.9 per cent), shipping and receiving (30.9 per cent). Roles in dental offices, civil engineering, production and transportation logistics, and others are also doing well.

Occupations that require a high school diploma or less are the hardest to get right now, as far as the number of open positions, especially in sales and service roles.

Looking ahead, though, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel: more Canadian companies plan to ramp up hiring in 2025, with 46 per cent of respondents to Robert Half’s State of Canadian Hiring Survey on track to add new permanent positions in the first half the year.

And, though this last quarter marked the ninth straight one for job deterioration, StatCan notes that “the drop in the third quarter was smaller compared with the decline recorded in the second quarter of 2024.”