Labour Market

Labour market news for Toronto-area job hunters.  Where to look for a job, growth industries, government programs and community services and search strategies.

Canadian Press: Fashion   Youth Employment Services is partnering with the Toronto Fashion Incubator to provide training and workshops to youth aged 16-29 on launching a career in the fashion industry. For more information, visit http://www.yes.on.ca/ or http://www.fashionincubator.com/

Minorities missing out on top jobs: study  Visible minorities constitute 40 per cent of area population, but hold only 13 per cent of 3,257 leadership posts.

Where the jobs area: skilled professions   Skilled trades, such as carpenters and plumbers, along with sales reps, engineers, technicians and accountants are the jobs employers are having most difficulties filling, a Manpower Canada survey of 1,909 employers shows.

Jobs are there if you know where to look   The largest number of job opportunities are in government, pharmaceutical, health care and education sectors with demand for strong sales people across all industries as businesses hit by the recession look to grow their markets.

Some jobs are still in demand  There's more demand than ever for some jobs, such as those in telecommunications; demand is steady in other areas, such as teaching; but for some people, such as retail sales clerks and chefs, demand has decreased since the downturn began. 

Who can make the switch?   From factory to retail role "is possible".  The key is to focus on the long term and realize that retailing offers a large array of jobs that can lead to a sizeable paycheque and rapid career advancement.

Shopping around for summer employment   Retail is not an export market, so it's not dependent on another country for profit. 

 Creativity means higher-paying Ontario jobs   "So can we have our cake and eat it too?" Mr. Milway asked, questioning if the province can keep service jobs but grow a more creative economy, when he talked about his study, Ontario in the Creative Age.

Opportunities "abound" for self-employed IT professionals   Self-employment among Canadian IT professionals is growing, and tech industry observers hail this as a good sign.

UBC study finds people with foreign names face discrimination in job market   Those who had resumes with foreign names and foreign education were nearly twice as likely to earn callbacks if they had held at least one job in Canada.

Aptitude tests may discourage best candidates   Researchers found that many variables kept the tests from being objective.

Virtual job fair links job seekers, employers   Launch of the working.com virtual career fair May 28 to June 11. 

To read previous news stories about the Toronto labour market, select Labour Market from the Categories (left side of the page).

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