Download - Help wanted in Hamilton Report
______________________________________________________________________________ Prepared by: Workforce Planning Hamilton
HELP WANTED
Job Vacancies Full Report: 2nd Quarter 2013
Welcome to Workforce Planning Hamilton’s online job vacancies full report for April-June 2013. This is
the first of a series of quarterly releases that provides a picture of real-time labour demand in Hamilton1.
OVERVIEW
There were 6,104 job vacancies advertised online in the Hamilton area during the second quarter of
2013. At the same time, the
Hamilton Census Metropolitan
Area’s (which includes Burlington
and Grimsby) unemployment
rate averaged approximately
6.6%, or 27,000 people out of
work2. (While this translates to
an approximate 4:1 job seeker to job vacancy ratio, the unemployed population includes a larger
geographic area than the job vacancies).
The majority of job postings (71%) only broadly indicated they were located within the City of Hamilton;
however, some postings specifically identified as being located in Stoney Creek (17%), Dundas (7%) and
Ancaster (6%).
TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT
While some job postings were more detailed than others, 64% did specify whether the vacancy was for a
full-time or part-time position. Of all postings (including those that did not specify the type of
employment), 51% were full-time, 8% were part-time, and 6% were listed as full or part-time. Full-time
work is typically considered 30 hours or more per week.
Only 35% of job ads clarified whether the position was temporary or permanent. Of those postings, 70%
were for permanent positions. Temporary positions are typically seasonal or short-term contract work,
but can sometimes lead to permanent opportunities.
JOB POSTINGS BY INDUSTRY
Unfortunately, many job postings do not specify the industry of the employer. This section focuses solely
on the 1,553 job postings that supplied industry identifying information. Almost three quarters of ads
that identified their industry were in one of five industries: manufacturing, trade, health care and social
assistance, educational services, and finance, insurance, real estate and leasing. These align with
Hamilton’s top five industries of employment in 2012.
1 Note: This data only includes job vacancies that were posted online. Many employers fill job vacancies through
other methods such as newspaper ads or word of mouth. These vacancies would not be reflected in this analysis. 2 Hamilton, Ontario population 15 and over. Seasonally adjusted, by census metropolitan area (3 month moving
average). Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 282-0116 and Catalogue no. 71-001-XIE.
April May June
Number of Job Postings
2,031 1,971 2,102
Unemployment Rate (Hamilton CMA)
6.8% 6.9% 6.2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
Manufacturing Trade Health Care and Social Assistance
Educational Services
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Leasing
Other % o
f P
ost
ings
th
at S
pe
cifi
ed
In
du
stry
Job Postings by Industry
JOB POSTINGS BY OCCUPATION
Sales and service occupations are the most common job postings in Hamilton. Sales and service is the
dominant industry not only in Hamilton, but Ontario and Canada as well. Many of these occupations
tend to be short-term in duration and have a higher turnover than other occupations. Sales and service
occupations are found across a broad range of industries, which also contributes to the high number of
job vacancies.
Management occupations are the
second most common type of job
posting. These jobs typically
require previous experience and
are of a high skill level.
Together, the top five
occupational groups accounted for
60% of all job vacancies.
Top 5 Occupational Groups by Number of Job Postings
% of All Job Postings
Sales and Services (including Retail) 19.0%
Management 12.4%
Trades, Transport, Construction 11.1%
General Help Wanted (including Warehousing) 9.1%
Business, Finance, Accounting 8.4%
Total 60%
About the Data
Workforce Planning Hamilton has contracted with Millier Dickinson Blais and Vicinity Jobs Inc. to receive quarterly job
vacancy statistics. The technology platform collects any data from online job postings including location, industry,
occupation, type of employment, duration of employment and job posting source. As data is collected throughout the
year, labour demand trends over time will be analyzed in future reports.
Why are vacancy statistics useful?
Job vacancies capture a portion of real-time labour demand in the community. As most detailed information on local
employment trends is only released every five years with the Census (and beginning in 2011 the National Household
Survey), most studies are limited to working with data that can be several years old. With job vacancy data, we can see
the type of work employers are hiring for in Hamilton right now. Vacancy statistics are used by job seekers, employers,
community organizations and governments to help determine where the jobs are.