LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update...

42
LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Transcript of LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update...

Page 1: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT

2016

ABOUT THIS REPORTThe Niagara Workforce Planning Board (NWPB)

serves the Niagara region as a leader in local labour

market planning delivering authoritative research

identifying employment trends targeting

workforce opportunities and bringing people

together to create solutions to workforce challenges

This report is our annual summary of the

developments challenges and strengths of the local

labour market

This report is published alongside a series of

municipal fact sheets These smaller reports offer an

up-to-date snapshot of population and employment

patterns in Niagararsquos 12 municipalities Digital copies

of these and other reports are available on our

website at wwwniagaraworkforceca

We encourage feedback from our readers

Please click this link to complete our feedback survey

1 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

CONTENTSOur Mission 2

Our Networks 2

Contact Us 2

Directors and Staff 3

Board of Directors 3

Our Staff 3

Executive Summary 4

Labour Market Overview 5

Labour Market Supply 8

Labour Force Education 12

Migration and Population 15

Industry Size in Niagara 17

Top Industries by Employment 20

Focus on Agriculture 23

Industry Subsectors 24

ZerondashEmployee Firms 28

Niagara Occupations 31

Niagara Employers Exploring Hiring Patterns 34

Action Plan 35

2 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

OUR MISSION

NWPB is one of 26 planning regions in

Ontario that make up the Local Boards

Network Local Boards are partly funded

through Employment Ontario

Our role is one of facilitation and

communication Our focus is on bringing

community stakeholders together to

identify labour force issues and develop

possible solutions

NWPB strives to ensure that information

on community initiatives and actions are

disseminated in an accurate and concise

manner throughout the Niagara region

This Employment Ontario project is funded by the

Ontario government

OUR NETWORKS

The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect

those of Employment Ontario

CONTACT US

36 Page StreetSt Catharines ON L2R 4A7905-641-0801wwwniagaraworkforcecainfoniagaraworkforceboardca

nwpbniagaraworkforce niagara-workforce-planning-board

3 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Lisa Cairns

Finance and Office Manager

905-641-0801 ext 21

Corinna Carson

Project Manager

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

Local Immigrant Partnership

905-641-1981

Mario De Divitis

Executive Director

905-641-0801 ext 27

Adam Durrant

Research Manager

905-641-0801 ext 31

Laura Fyfe

Research Associate

905-641-0801 ext 30

Meghan Tamane

Mentorship Coordinator

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

905-641-1981

Fiona Allan

Lisa Benger

Hugo Chesshire

Daniel Peat

Frank Pupillo

Mahendra Thaleshvar

Lori Watson

DIRECTORS AND STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OUR STAFF

4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is

built on an evidence-based analysis of labour market

strengths and challenges within the Niagara region It is

our hope that this report will be of value to community

organizations local government job seekers employers

and other Niagara stakeholders Working together we

believe that sound planning will lead to the future

successes that will continue to make Niagara an excellent

place to live and do business

This executive summary offers a brief summary of the

observations contained within this report Additional

details and context can be found later in the document

Readers should note that this update is generally focused

on Niagara at a regional level The most up-to-date data

on Niagararsquos 12 multiplicities can be found in our

municipal fact sheets

Niagararsquos 2015 labour market was generally consistent

with that of 2014 2015 noted some slight increases in the

size of the labour force and a considerable reduction in

the unemployment rate This falling unemployment rate

is paired with increases in Niagararsquos employment and

participation rates For the first time since 2012 the 2015

local labour market housed more than 200000 jobs

Micro-businesses (those establishments employing

between one and four individuals) continue to dominate

Niagararsquos employer landscape now representing more

than half of all employers Traditionally defined small-to-

medium enterprises which employ between 1 and 100

individuals account for 977 of all employers in Niagara

While Niagararsquos employers saw increases in both full-time

and part-time employment the ratio of full-time to

part-time employment remains below pre-recession

levels

Niagararsquos three largest employment sectors (wholesale

and retail trade accommodation and food services and

health care and social assistance) all saw year-over-year

employment gains in 2015 The largest of these gains was

in wholesale and retail trade which grew by 119

Likewise construction added 2700 jobs in 2015

representing a 176 year-over-year increase

This yearrsquos employer questionnaire is informed by the

results of our Employer One survey Its purpose is to begin

an exploration of the ldquohiddenrdquo job market We asked

employers to comment on whether they had ever hired

using informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting and

then to evaluate their experiences using these methods

Of the 85 employers who completed the questionnaire

67 reported using word-of-mouth or informal recruiting

and the vast majority of them found it to be a positive

experience

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Understanding a local labour market

requires a minimum of three

measurements employment rate

participation rate and unemployment

rate

The employment rate measures the

percentage of the working-age population

(ie individuals aged 15 and older) that is

employed The participation rate

measures the percentage of the working-

age population that is either employed or

unemployed The total of all people who

are either employed or unemployed is

commonly called the labour force Thus

the unemployment rate measures the

percentage of the labour force that is

currently looking for work Figure 1

provides a historical overview of the size

of the labour force and unemployment

rate in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area or CMA

Figure 1 shows that between 2014 and

2015 the size of the labour force in

Niagara increased by 369 This increase

represents a new post-recession high for

the size of Niagararsquos labour force This

trend is good news for Niagara when seen

in the context of falling unemployment

(77 in 2014 compared to 70 in 2015)

an increasing participation rate (as seen in

figure 2 618 in 2014 compared to

639 in 2015) and an increasing

employment rate (571 in 2014

compared to 595 in 2015)

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

NIAGARArsquoS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

IS NOW WELL BELOW THE

104 PEAK SEEN DURING

THE RECESSION AND IS

TRENDING TOWARD

PRE-RECESSIONARY LEVELS

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 2: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

ABOUT THIS REPORTThe Niagara Workforce Planning Board (NWPB)

serves the Niagara region as a leader in local labour

market planning delivering authoritative research

identifying employment trends targeting

workforce opportunities and bringing people

together to create solutions to workforce challenges

This report is our annual summary of the

developments challenges and strengths of the local

labour market

This report is published alongside a series of

municipal fact sheets These smaller reports offer an

up-to-date snapshot of population and employment

patterns in Niagararsquos 12 municipalities Digital copies

of these and other reports are available on our

website at wwwniagaraworkforceca

We encourage feedback from our readers

Please click this link to complete our feedback survey

1 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

CONTENTSOur Mission 2

Our Networks 2

Contact Us 2

Directors and Staff 3

Board of Directors 3

Our Staff 3

Executive Summary 4

Labour Market Overview 5

Labour Market Supply 8

Labour Force Education 12

Migration and Population 15

Industry Size in Niagara 17

Top Industries by Employment 20

Focus on Agriculture 23

Industry Subsectors 24

ZerondashEmployee Firms 28

Niagara Occupations 31

Niagara Employers Exploring Hiring Patterns 34

Action Plan 35

2 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

OUR MISSION

NWPB is one of 26 planning regions in

Ontario that make up the Local Boards

Network Local Boards are partly funded

through Employment Ontario

Our role is one of facilitation and

communication Our focus is on bringing

community stakeholders together to

identify labour force issues and develop

possible solutions

NWPB strives to ensure that information

on community initiatives and actions are

disseminated in an accurate and concise

manner throughout the Niagara region

This Employment Ontario project is funded by the

Ontario government

OUR NETWORKS

The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect

those of Employment Ontario

CONTACT US

36 Page StreetSt Catharines ON L2R 4A7905-641-0801wwwniagaraworkforcecainfoniagaraworkforceboardca

nwpbniagaraworkforce niagara-workforce-planning-board

3 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Lisa Cairns

Finance and Office Manager

905-641-0801 ext 21

Corinna Carson

Project Manager

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

Local Immigrant Partnership

905-641-1981

Mario De Divitis

Executive Director

905-641-0801 ext 27

Adam Durrant

Research Manager

905-641-0801 ext 31

Laura Fyfe

Research Associate

905-641-0801 ext 30

Meghan Tamane

Mentorship Coordinator

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

905-641-1981

Fiona Allan

Lisa Benger

Hugo Chesshire

Daniel Peat

Frank Pupillo

Mahendra Thaleshvar

Lori Watson

DIRECTORS AND STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OUR STAFF

4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is

built on an evidence-based analysis of labour market

strengths and challenges within the Niagara region It is

our hope that this report will be of value to community

organizations local government job seekers employers

and other Niagara stakeholders Working together we

believe that sound planning will lead to the future

successes that will continue to make Niagara an excellent

place to live and do business

This executive summary offers a brief summary of the

observations contained within this report Additional

details and context can be found later in the document

Readers should note that this update is generally focused

on Niagara at a regional level The most up-to-date data

on Niagararsquos 12 multiplicities can be found in our

municipal fact sheets

Niagararsquos 2015 labour market was generally consistent

with that of 2014 2015 noted some slight increases in the

size of the labour force and a considerable reduction in

the unemployment rate This falling unemployment rate

is paired with increases in Niagararsquos employment and

participation rates For the first time since 2012 the 2015

local labour market housed more than 200000 jobs

Micro-businesses (those establishments employing

between one and four individuals) continue to dominate

Niagararsquos employer landscape now representing more

than half of all employers Traditionally defined small-to-

medium enterprises which employ between 1 and 100

individuals account for 977 of all employers in Niagara

While Niagararsquos employers saw increases in both full-time

and part-time employment the ratio of full-time to

part-time employment remains below pre-recession

levels

Niagararsquos three largest employment sectors (wholesale

and retail trade accommodation and food services and

health care and social assistance) all saw year-over-year

employment gains in 2015 The largest of these gains was

in wholesale and retail trade which grew by 119

Likewise construction added 2700 jobs in 2015

representing a 176 year-over-year increase

This yearrsquos employer questionnaire is informed by the

results of our Employer One survey Its purpose is to begin

an exploration of the ldquohiddenrdquo job market We asked

employers to comment on whether they had ever hired

using informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting and

then to evaluate their experiences using these methods

Of the 85 employers who completed the questionnaire

67 reported using word-of-mouth or informal recruiting

and the vast majority of them found it to be a positive

experience

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Understanding a local labour market

requires a minimum of three

measurements employment rate

participation rate and unemployment

rate

The employment rate measures the

percentage of the working-age population

(ie individuals aged 15 and older) that is

employed The participation rate

measures the percentage of the working-

age population that is either employed or

unemployed The total of all people who

are either employed or unemployed is

commonly called the labour force Thus

the unemployment rate measures the

percentage of the labour force that is

currently looking for work Figure 1

provides a historical overview of the size

of the labour force and unemployment

rate in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area or CMA

Figure 1 shows that between 2014 and

2015 the size of the labour force in

Niagara increased by 369 This increase

represents a new post-recession high for

the size of Niagararsquos labour force This

trend is good news for Niagara when seen

in the context of falling unemployment

(77 in 2014 compared to 70 in 2015)

an increasing participation rate (as seen in

figure 2 618 in 2014 compared to

639 in 2015) and an increasing

employment rate (571 in 2014

compared to 595 in 2015)

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

NIAGARArsquoS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

IS NOW WELL BELOW THE

104 PEAK SEEN DURING

THE RECESSION AND IS

TRENDING TOWARD

PRE-RECESSIONARY LEVELS

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 3: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

1 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

CONTENTSOur Mission 2

Our Networks 2

Contact Us 2

Directors and Staff 3

Board of Directors 3

Our Staff 3

Executive Summary 4

Labour Market Overview 5

Labour Market Supply 8

Labour Force Education 12

Migration and Population 15

Industry Size in Niagara 17

Top Industries by Employment 20

Focus on Agriculture 23

Industry Subsectors 24

ZerondashEmployee Firms 28

Niagara Occupations 31

Niagara Employers Exploring Hiring Patterns 34

Action Plan 35

2 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

OUR MISSION

NWPB is one of 26 planning regions in

Ontario that make up the Local Boards

Network Local Boards are partly funded

through Employment Ontario

Our role is one of facilitation and

communication Our focus is on bringing

community stakeholders together to

identify labour force issues and develop

possible solutions

NWPB strives to ensure that information

on community initiatives and actions are

disseminated in an accurate and concise

manner throughout the Niagara region

This Employment Ontario project is funded by the

Ontario government

OUR NETWORKS

The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect

those of Employment Ontario

CONTACT US

36 Page StreetSt Catharines ON L2R 4A7905-641-0801wwwniagaraworkforcecainfoniagaraworkforceboardca

nwpbniagaraworkforce niagara-workforce-planning-board

3 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Lisa Cairns

Finance and Office Manager

905-641-0801 ext 21

Corinna Carson

Project Manager

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

Local Immigrant Partnership

905-641-1981

Mario De Divitis

Executive Director

905-641-0801 ext 27

Adam Durrant

Research Manager

905-641-0801 ext 31

Laura Fyfe

Research Associate

905-641-0801 ext 30

Meghan Tamane

Mentorship Coordinator

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

905-641-1981

Fiona Allan

Lisa Benger

Hugo Chesshire

Daniel Peat

Frank Pupillo

Mahendra Thaleshvar

Lori Watson

DIRECTORS AND STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OUR STAFF

4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is

built on an evidence-based analysis of labour market

strengths and challenges within the Niagara region It is

our hope that this report will be of value to community

organizations local government job seekers employers

and other Niagara stakeholders Working together we

believe that sound planning will lead to the future

successes that will continue to make Niagara an excellent

place to live and do business

This executive summary offers a brief summary of the

observations contained within this report Additional

details and context can be found later in the document

Readers should note that this update is generally focused

on Niagara at a regional level The most up-to-date data

on Niagararsquos 12 multiplicities can be found in our

municipal fact sheets

Niagararsquos 2015 labour market was generally consistent

with that of 2014 2015 noted some slight increases in the

size of the labour force and a considerable reduction in

the unemployment rate This falling unemployment rate

is paired with increases in Niagararsquos employment and

participation rates For the first time since 2012 the 2015

local labour market housed more than 200000 jobs

Micro-businesses (those establishments employing

between one and four individuals) continue to dominate

Niagararsquos employer landscape now representing more

than half of all employers Traditionally defined small-to-

medium enterprises which employ between 1 and 100

individuals account for 977 of all employers in Niagara

While Niagararsquos employers saw increases in both full-time

and part-time employment the ratio of full-time to

part-time employment remains below pre-recession

levels

Niagararsquos three largest employment sectors (wholesale

and retail trade accommodation and food services and

health care and social assistance) all saw year-over-year

employment gains in 2015 The largest of these gains was

in wholesale and retail trade which grew by 119

Likewise construction added 2700 jobs in 2015

representing a 176 year-over-year increase

This yearrsquos employer questionnaire is informed by the

results of our Employer One survey Its purpose is to begin

an exploration of the ldquohiddenrdquo job market We asked

employers to comment on whether they had ever hired

using informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting and

then to evaluate their experiences using these methods

Of the 85 employers who completed the questionnaire

67 reported using word-of-mouth or informal recruiting

and the vast majority of them found it to be a positive

experience

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Understanding a local labour market

requires a minimum of three

measurements employment rate

participation rate and unemployment

rate

The employment rate measures the

percentage of the working-age population

(ie individuals aged 15 and older) that is

employed The participation rate

measures the percentage of the working-

age population that is either employed or

unemployed The total of all people who

are either employed or unemployed is

commonly called the labour force Thus

the unemployment rate measures the

percentage of the labour force that is

currently looking for work Figure 1

provides a historical overview of the size

of the labour force and unemployment

rate in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area or CMA

Figure 1 shows that between 2014 and

2015 the size of the labour force in

Niagara increased by 369 This increase

represents a new post-recession high for

the size of Niagararsquos labour force This

trend is good news for Niagara when seen

in the context of falling unemployment

(77 in 2014 compared to 70 in 2015)

an increasing participation rate (as seen in

figure 2 618 in 2014 compared to

639 in 2015) and an increasing

employment rate (571 in 2014

compared to 595 in 2015)

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

NIAGARArsquoS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

IS NOW WELL BELOW THE

104 PEAK SEEN DURING

THE RECESSION AND IS

TRENDING TOWARD

PRE-RECESSIONARY LEVELS

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 4: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

2 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

OUR MISSION

NWPB is one of 26 planning regions in

Ontario that make up the Local Boards

Network Local Boards are partly funded

through Employment Ontario

Our role is one of facilitation and

communication Our focus is on bringing

community stakeholders together to

identify labour force issues and develop

possible solutions

NWPB strives to ensure that information

on community initiatives and actions are

disseminated in an accurate and concise

manner throughout the Niagara region

This Employment Ontario project is funded by the

Ontario government

OUR NETWORKS

The views expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect

those of Employment Ontario

CONTACT US

36 Page StreetSt Catharines ON L2R 4A7905-641-0801wwwniagaraworkforcecainfoniagaraworkforceboardca

nwpbniagaraworkforce niagara-workforce-planning-board

3 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Lisa Cairns

Finance and Office Manager

905-641-0801 ext 21

Corinna Carson

Project Manager

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

Local Immigrant Partnership

905-641-1981

Mario De Divitis

Executive Director

905-641-0801 ext 27

Adam Durrant

Research Manager

905-641-0801 ext 31

Laura Fyfe

Research Associate

905-641-0801 ext 30

Meghan Tamane

Mentorship Coordinator

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

905-641-1981

Fiona Allan

Lisa Benger

Hugo Chesshire

Daniel Peat

Frank Pupillo

Mahendra Thaleshvar

Lori Watson

DIRECTORS AND STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OUR STAFF

4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is

built on an evidence-based analysis of labour market

strengths and challenges within the Niagara region It is

our hope that this report will be of value to community

organizations local government job seekers employers

and other Niagara stakeholders Working together we

believe that sound planning will lead to the future

successes that will continue to make Niagara an excellent

place to live and do business

This executive summary offers a brief summary of the

observations contained within this report Additional

details and context can be found later in the document

Readers should note that this update is generally focused

on Niagara at a regional level The most up-to-date data

on Niagararsquos 12 multiplicities can be found in our

municipal fact sheets

Niagararsquos 2015 labour market was generally consistent

with that of 2014 2015 noted some slight increases in the

size of the labour force and a considerable reduction in

the unemployment rate This falling unemployment rate

is paired with increases in Niagararsquos employment and

participation rates For the first time since 2012 the 2015

local labour market housed more than 200000 jobs

Micro-businesses (those establishments employing

between one and four individuals) continue to dominate

Niagararsquos employer landscape now representing more

than half of all employers Traditionally defined small-to-

medium enterprises which employ between 1 and 100

individuals account for 977 of all employers in Niagara

While Niagararsquos employers saw increases in both full-time

and part-time employment the ratio of full-time to

part-time employment remains below pre-recession

levels

Niagararsquos three largest employment sectors (wholesale

and retail trade accommodation and food services and

health care and social assistance) all saw year-over-year

employment gains in 2015 The largest of these gains was

in wholesale and retail trade which grew by 119

Likewise construction added 2700 jobs in 2015

representing a 176 year-over-year increase

This yearrsquos employer questionnaire is informed by the

results of our Employer One survey Its purpose is to begin

an exploration of the ldquohiddenrdquo job market We asked

employers to comment on whether they had ever hired

using informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting and

then to evaluate their experiences using these methods

Of the 85 employers who completed the questionnaire

67 reported using word-of-mouth or informal recruiting

and the vast majority of them found it to be a positive

experience

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Understanding a local labour market

requires a minimum of three

measurements employment rate

participation rate and unemployment

rate

The employment rate measures the

percentage of the working-age population

(ie individuals aged 15 and older) that is

employed The participation rate

measures the percentage of the working-

age population that is either employed or

unemployed The total of all people who

are either employed or unemployed is

commonly called the labour force Thus

the unemployment rate measures the

percentage of the labour force that is

currently looking for work Figure 1

provides a historical overview of the size

of the labour force and unemployment

rate in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area or CMA

Figure 1 shows that between 2014 and

2015 the size of the labour force in

Niagara increased by 369 This increase

represents a new post-recession high for

the size of Niagararsquos labour force This

trend is good news for Niagara when seen

in the context of falling unemployment

(77 in 2014 compared to 70 in 2015)

an increasing participation rate (as seen in

figure 2 618 in 2014 compared to

639 in 2015) and an increasing

employment rate (571 in 2014

compared to 595 in 2015)

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

NIAGARArsquoS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

IS NOW WELL BELOW THE

104 PEAK SEEN DURING

THE RECESSION AND IS

TRENDING TOWARD

PRE-RECESSIONARY LEVELS

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 5: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

3 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Lisa Cairns

Finance and Office Manager

905-641-0801 ext 21

Corinna Carson

Project Manager

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

Local Immigrant Partnership

905-641-1981

Mario De Divitis

Executive Director

905-641-0801 ext 27

Adam Durrant

Research Manager

905-641-0801 ext 31

Laura Fyfe

Research Associate

905-641-0801 ext 30

Meghan Tamane

Mentorship Coordinator

Niagara Immigrant

Connections Initiative

905-641-1981

Fiona Allan

Lisa Benger

Hugo Chesshire

Daniel Peat

Frank Pupillo

Mahendra Thaleshvar

Lori Watson

DIRECTORS AND STAFF

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OUR STAFF

4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is

built on an evidence-based analysis of labour market

strengths and challenges within the Niagara region It is

our hope that this report will be of value to community

organizations local government job seekers employers

and other Niagara stakeholders Working together we

believe that sound planning will lead to the future

successes that will continue to make Niagara an excellent

place to live and do business

This executive summary offers a brief summary of the

observations contained within this report Additional

details and context can be found later in the document

Readers should note that this update is generally focused

on Niagara at a regional level The most up-to-date data

on Niagararsquos 12 multiplicities can be found in our

municipal fact sheets

Niagararsquos 2015 labour market was generally consistent

with that of 2014 2015 noted some slight increases in the

size of the labour force and a considerable reduction in

the unemployment rate This falling unemployment rate

is paired with increases in Niagararsquos employment and

participation rates For the first time since 2012 the 2015

local labour market housed more than 200000 jobs

Micro-businesses (those establishments employing

between one and four individuals) continue to dominate

Niagararsquos employer landscape now representing more

than half of all employers Traditionally defined small-to-

medium enterprises which employ between 1 and 100

individuals account for 977 of all employers in Niagara

While Niagararsquos employers saw increases in both full-time

and part-time employment the ratio of full-time to

part-time employment remains below pre-recession

levels

Niagararsquos three largest employment sectors (wholesale

and retail trade accommodation and food services and

health care and social assistance) all saw year-over-year

employment gains in 2015 The largest of these gains was

in wholesale and retail trade which grew by 119

Likewise construction added 2700 jobs in 2015

representing a 176 year-over-year increase

This yearrsquos employer questionnaire is informed by the

results of our Employer One survey Its purpose is to begin

an exploration of the ldquohiddenrdquo job market We asked

employers to comment on whether they had ever hired

using informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting and

then to evaluate their experiences using these methods

Of the 85 employers who completed the questionnaire

67 reported using word-of-mouth or informal recruiting

and the vast majority of them found it to be a positive

experience

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Understanding a local labour market

requires a minimum of three

measurements employment rate

participation rate and unemployment

rate

The employment rate measures the

percentage of the working-age population

(ie individuals aged 15 and older) that is

employed The participation rate

measures the percentage of the working-

age population that is either employed or

unemployed The total of all people who

are either employed or unemployed is

commonly called the labour force Thus

the unemployment rate measures the

percentage of the labour force that is

currently looking for work Figure 1

provides a historical overview of the size

of the labour force and unemployment

rate in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area or CMA

Figure 1 shows that between 2014 and

2015 the size of the labour force in

Niagara increased by 369 This increase

represents a new post-recession high for

the size of Niagararsquos labour force This

trend is good news for Niagara when seen

in the context of falling unemployment

(77 in 2014 compared to 70 in 2015)

an increasing participation rate (as seen in

figure 2 618 in 2014 compared to

639 in 2015) and an increasing

employment rate (571 in 2014

compared to 595 in 2015)

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

NIAGARArsquoS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

IS NOW WELL BELOW THE

104 PEAK SEEN DURING

THE RECESSION AND IS

TRENDING TOWARD

PRE-RECESSIONARY LEVELS

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 6: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is

built on an evidence-based analysis of labour market

strengths and challenges within the Niagara region It is

our hope that this report will be of value to community

organizations local government job seekers employers

and other Niagara stakeholders Working together we

believe that sound planning will lead to the future

successes that will continue to make Niagara an excellent

place to live and do business

This executive summary offers a brief summary of the

observations contained within this report Additional

details and context can be found later in the document

Readers should note that this update is generally focused

on Niagara at a regional level The most up-to-date data

on Niagararsquos 12 multiplicities can be found in our

municipal fact sheets

Niagararsquos 2015 labour market was generally consistent

with that of 2014 2015 noted some slight increases in the

size of the labour force and a considerable reduction in

the unemployment rate This falling unemployment rate

is paired with increases in Niagararsquos employment and

participation rates For the first time since 2012 the 2015

local labour market housed more than 200000 jobs

Micro-businesses (those establishments employing

between one and four individuals) continue to dominate

Niagararsquos employer landscape now representing more

than half of all employers Traditionally defined small-to-

medium enterprises which employ between 1 and 100

individuals account for 977 of all employers in Niagara

While Niagararsquos employers saw increases in both full-time

and part-time employment the ratio of full-time to

part-time employment remains below pre-recession

levels

Niagararsquos three largest employment sectors (wholesale

and retail trade accommodation and food services and

health care and social assistance) all saw year-over-year

employment gains in 2015 The largest of these gains was

in wholesale and retail trade which grew by 119

Likewise construction added 2700 jobs in 2015

representing a 176 year-over-year increase

This yearrsquos employer questionnaire is informed by the

results of our Employer One survey Its purpose is to begin

an exploration of the ldquohiddenrdquo job market We asked

employers to comment on whether they had ever hired

using informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting and

then to evaluate their experiences using these methods

Of the 85 employers who completed the questionnaire

67 reported using word-of-mouth or informal recruiting

and the vast majority of them found it to be a positive

experience

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

5 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Understanding a local labour market

requires a minimum of three

measurements employment rate

participation rate and unemployment

rate

The employment rate measures the

percentage of the working-age population

(ie individuals aged 15 and older) that is

employed The participation rate

measures the percentage of the working-

age population that is either employed or

unemployed The total of all people who

are either employed or unemployed is

commonly called the labour force Thus

the unemployment rate measures the

percentage of the labour force that is

currently looking for work Figure 1

provides a historical overview of the size

of the labour force and unemployment

rate in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area or CMA

Figure 1 shows that between 2014 and

2015 the size of the labour force in

Niagara increased by 369 This increase

represents a new post-recession high for

the size of Niagararsquos labour force This

trend is good news for Niagara when seen

in the context of falling unemployment

(77 in 2014 compared to 70 in 2015)

an increasing participation rate (as seen in

figure 2 618 in 2014 compared to

639 in 2015) and an increasing

employment rate (571 in 2014

compared to 595 in 2015)

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

NIAGARArsquoS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

IS NOW WELL BELOW THE

104 PEAK SEEN DURING

THE RECESSION AND IS

TRENDING TOWARD

PRE-RECESSIONARY LEVELS

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 7: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

5 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Understanding a local labour market

requires a minimum of three

measurements employment rate

participation rate and unemployment

rate

The employment rate measures the

percentage of the working-age population

(ie individuals aged 15 and older) that is

employed The participation rate

measures the percentage of the working-

age population that is either employed or

unemployed The total of all people who

are either employed or unemployed is

commonly called the labour force Thus

the unemployment rate measures the

percentage of the labour force that is

currently looking for work Figure 1

provides a historical overview of the size

of the labour force and unemployment

rate in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area or CMA

Figure 1 shows that between 2014 and

2015 the size of the labour force in

Niagara increased by 369 This increase

represents a new post-recession high for

the size of Niagararsquos labour force This

trend is good news for Niagara when seen

in the context of falling unemployment

(77 in 2014 compared to 70 in 2015)

an increasing participation rate (as seen in

figure 2 618 in 2014 compared to

639 in 2015) and an increasing

employment rate (571 in 2014

compared to 595 in 2015)

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

NIAGARArsquoS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

IS NOW WELL BELOW THE

104 PEAK SEEN DURING

THE RECESSION AND IS

TRENDING TOWARD

PRE-RECESSIONARY LEVELS

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 8: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

6 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 1 ANNUAL LABOUR FORCE SIZE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 2 ANNUAL PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT RATES ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Labour force Unemployment rate

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20152001 2002 2003

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

Un

emp

loym

ent

Rat

e

225000

215000

205000

195000

185000

175000

165000

155000

2005 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

209800

2010 LABOUR FORCE SIZE

210600

2014 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 211600

2015 LABOUR

FORCE SIZE 219400

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129

64

62

60

58

56

2015 Participation rate

639

2005 Participation rate

635

2010 Participation rate

625

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Participation rate Employment rate

2015 Employment rate

595

2010 Employment rate

568

2005 Employment rate

590

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 9: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

7 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET OVERVIEW

FIGURE 3 ANNUAL FULL-TIME AND PART-TIME EMPLOYMENT ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0129 NWPB calculations

Figure 3 provides a brief overview of full-time and

part-time employment in Niagara 2015 saw a 50

increase in full-time employment and a 26 increase in

part-time employment No other year in the last 15 has

seen a higher figure for full-time employment

However it is equally important to note the relationship

between full-time and part-time employment In the years

before the Great Recession Niagararsquos economy housed a

greater proportion of full-time jobs compared to part-time

jobs

For example in 2006 there were 382 full-time jobs for

every 1 part-time job This ratio fell during the recession

years and began trending back to pre-recession figures

in 2015 In 2015 this ratio stood at 329 full-time jobs for

each part-time job

180000

160000

140000

120000

100000

80000

60000

40000

20000

0

40

39

38

37

36

35

34

33

32

31

30

29

28

27

26

Nu

mb

er o

f Jo

bs

Full-time employment Part-time employment FT-to-PT ratio

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Nu

mb

er o

f Fu

ll-Ti

me

Job

s fo

r Ev

ery

On

e P

art-

Tim

e Jo

b

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 10: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

8 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Niagararsquos Employment Ontario

employment service providers facilitate

invaluable support for the unemployed

underemployed and individuals seeking

to change career paths Each year NWPB

receives aggregated client data for these

providers In 2015 they assisted a

combined 7054 individuals With Statistics

Canada reporting 15300 unemployed

individuals in Niagara in 2015 we consider

Employment Ontariorsquos local client data to

be an outstanding source of intelligence

on the available workforce in Niagara

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

MORE THAN

41 OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

CLIENTS HAVE EITHER A

COLLEGE- OR UNIVERSITY-

LEVEL EDUCATION

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 11: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

9 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

TABLE 1 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE CLIENT OCCUPATIONS AT TIME OF LAYOFF 2015ndash2016

CLIENT OCCUPATION AT TIME OF LAYOFF NUMBER

OF CLIENTS

Service support and other service occupations not elsewhere classified 566

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations 362

Industrial electrical and construction trades 344

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations 339

Trades helpers construction labourers and related occupations 306

Labourers in processing manufacturing and utilities 258

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade 220

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations 219

Sales support occupations 207

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations 201

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

Table 1 provides a breakdown of the top 10 occupations of

employment service clients at their time of layoff

between April 2015 and March 2016 These individuals

represent a wide range of skills and occupations While a

number of these clients come from sales and service

occupations a significant portion offer backgrounds in

heavy machine operation the skilled trades and finance

The versatility of this talent pool is further illustrated in

the level of education among employment service clients

Figure 4 shows that more than 41 of employment

service clients have either a college- or university-level

education Compared to Niagararsquos workforce

employment service clients offer a clear advantage in

terms of high school and college completion

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 12: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

10 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR MARKET SUPPLY

AGE RANGENUMBER OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTSPERCENTAGE OF EMPLOYMENT

SERVICES CLIENTS

15ndash24 1741 2468

25ndash44 2841 4028

45ndash64 2347 3327

65 and older 125 177

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data

FIGURE 4 LEVELS OF EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA LABOUR FORCE AND NIAGARA EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015ndash2016

Table 2 shows the age breakdown of employment service

clients In 2015 403 of clients were between the ages

of 25 and 44 and 332 were between the ages of 45

and 64 Only 24 less than one in four were under the

age of 24 These data further illustrate how employment

service clients represent an experienced educated and

diverse segment of the available labour force Since 55

of employment service clients were out of work for less

than three months and therefore are likely not

predisposed to any loss of professional or interpersonal

skills NWPB encourages employers looking to hire to

foster a strong relationship with an Employment Ontario

employment service provider

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

TABLE 2 AGE OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES CLIENTS 2015

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0

St CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Niagara ES Clients

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College completion

Universitycompletion

115

318

124

92

266

301

176

111

22

396

Source Employment Ontario Information System Case Management System client data Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 13: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

11 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 14: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

12 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Educational attainment measures an

individualrsquos highest level of formal

education These data were collected

through Statistics Canadarsquos National

Household Survey (NHS) and previously

through the long-form census Because of

the changes in data gathering and

reporting between the NHS and the

long-form census it is not possible to

make valid historical comparisons of

educational attainment in Niagara

Nevertheless this section represents the

most up-to-date data currently available

to the NWPB on education patterns in

Niagara The return of the long-form

census in 2016 will likely allow for some

degree of comparison between past and

present educational data in future labour

market reports NWPB will provide

updates on this as more data becomes

available from Statistics Canada

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

COMPARED TO ONTARIO THE NIAGARA WORKFORCE

HAS MORE COLLEGE-TRAINED

WORKERS PER CAPITA

AND MORE WORKERS WITH

APPRENTICESHIPS OR

TRADES CERTIFICATIONS

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 15: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

13 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATION

Figure 5 compares the general levels of educational

attainment for the St CatharinesndashNiagara CMArsquos labour

force As of 2011 566 of Niagararsquos labour force had

completed some level of post-secondary training (eg a

trades certificate college diploma or university degree)

Nearly 318 of the labour force had a high school

diploma as their highest level of formal education Only

115 of the labour force was absent any completed

formal training

Figure 6 breaks down the levels of educational

attainment among individuals holding a post-secondary

qualification as of 2011 the latest year for which data are

available Compared to Ontario as a whole Niagararsquos

workforce has a greater concentration of college-

educated individuals (469 in Niagara versus 367 in

Ontario) Niagara also possesses an advantage in

individuals with an apprenticeship or trades certificate

(163 locally compared to 117 at the provincial level) A

total of 311 of Niagararsquos workforce hold a university

degree compared to 446 across the province

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 16: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

14 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONP

ost

-Sec

on

dar

y Tr

ain

ed L

abo

ur

Forc

e P

erce

nta

ge

163

469

117

367

311

446

57 70

Apprenticeshiptrades certificate or diploma

College diploma University certificate or diploma below bachelor level

University certificate or diploma at bachelor level

or above

633

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Per

cen

tag

e

115

318

104

264

566

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

FIGURE 5 LABOUR FORCE EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT AMONG THE ST CATHARINES ndash NIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

No certificatediploma or degree

High schoolcompletion

Post secondary certificate diploma

or degree

FIGURE 6 POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA VERSUS ONTARIO 2011

Source Statistics Canada 2011 National Household Survey

Niagara Ontario

Niagara Ontario

50

40

30

20

10

0

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 17: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

15 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 7 NIAGARA REGION ANNUAL POPULATION ESTIMATES 2001ndash2015

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

Changes to a regionrsquos population will

almost certainly have a direct impact on

the characteristics of a regionrsquos workforce

It is for that reason that we include

population and migration data for the

Niagara region in this report Figure 7

shows the estimated population of the

Niagara region from 2001 to 2015

Statistics Canadarsquos most recent population

estimates suggests approximately 449098

individuals lived in Niagara in 2015

This growth follows a brief period of

population decline in 2007ndash2008

Additional information on population

patterns for Niagararsquos 12 municipalities is

available for review in NWPBrsquos municipal

fact sheet series

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

NIAGARArsquoS POPULATION

HAS SHOWN STEADY

GROWTH SINCE

2009

INCREASING BY 1 BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015

455000

450000

445000

440000

435000

430000

425000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Po

pu

lati

on

Year

2004 Population

estimate437610

2009 Population

estimate440802

2015 Population

estimate449098

2014 Population

estimate447380

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 18: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

16 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

MIGRATION AND POPULATION

Table 4 shows the number of individuals who moved into

and out of the Niagara region between 2009 and 2014

These data allow us to understand Niagararsquos net-

population changes and any significant migration

patterns in Niagara For example the region shows the

highest amount of in- and out-migrants in the 25ndashtondash44

cohort Even though this group accounted for 347 of

in-migrants and 394 of out-migrants it represented

only 114 of net-migrants (ie those people who moved

into Niagara and stayed in region) In comparison the

45-to-64 age cohort has a smaller tally of in- and out-

migration but accounts for almost half of all net-

migration These data suggest that Niagara offers unique

ldquopullrdquo factors for older workers

A comparison of 2009ndash2014 migration to data from

2008ndash2013 represented in table 3 illustrates a generally

consistent migration pattern for the region Individuals

between the ages of 45 and 64 continue to be the largest

group of net-migrants into Niagara The 25ndashtondash44 cohort

reports the most in- and out-migration but their high

turnover accounts for fewer net-migrants Negative

net-migration in the 18ndashtondash24 cohort remains a challenge

for Niagara However the 2009ndash2014 data set shows a

431 decrease in the lost population within this

migration group Overall a 205 increase in net-

migrants to the Niagara region was seen between 2009

and 2014

AGE RANGE IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10688 8197 2663

18ndash24 8264 8983 minus 719

25ndash44 20479 19552 927

45ndash64 12493 8374 4119

65 and over 5635 4305 1330

Total 57731 49411 8320

Source Taxfiler

AGE GROUP IN-MIGRANTS OUT-MIGRANTS NET-MIGRANTS

0ndash17 10909 8086 2823

18ndash24 8382 8791 minus 409

25ndash44 20556 19407 1149

45ndash64 13290 8471 4819

65 and over 6139 4498 1641

Total 59276 49253 10023

Source Taxfiler Statistics Canada CANSIM 051-0062

TABLE 4 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2009ndash2014

TABLE 3 POPULATION MIGRATION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2008ndash2013

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 19: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

17 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

The following data show the number of

employers operating within the Niagara

region Please note that tables 5 and 6

cover only establishments with

employees Establishments operating

without employees (eg people who are

self-employed or businesses operating

with only family members as staff) are

covered on page 28 Note also that

changes to the way Statistics Canada

reports these data prevent comparisons

from prior to December 2014

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

THE MAJORITY OF BUSINESSES IN NIAGARA ARE MICRO-BUSINESSES

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 20: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

18 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2014

NUMBER OFESTABLISHMENTSDECEMBER 2015

2014ndash2015ABSOLUTE CHANGE

2014ndash2015PERCENTAGE

CHANGE

1ndash4 6100 6245 145 24

5ndash9 2530 2509 minus 21 minus 08

10ndash19 1650 1647 minus 3 minus 02

20ndash49 1134 1167 33 29

50ndash99 370 368 minus 2 minus 05

100ndash199 173 175 2 12

200ndash499 73 74 1 14

500+ 24 26 2 83

Total 12054 12211 157 13

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

As seen in table 5 a slight majority of Niagararsquos employer

landscape is made up of micro-businesses A micro-

business is a business employing between one and four

individuals A small business in comparison typically

employs between 5 and 99 individuals this second group

accounts for 472 of Niagararsquos employers and 402 of

all Ontario employers Combining microndash and small

businesses we see that 978 of all businesses in both

Niagara and Ontario employ fewer than 99 individuals

TABLE 5 EMPLOYERS SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014ndash2015

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 21: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

19 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SIZE IN NIAGARA

ESTABLISHMENT SIZENUMBER OF EMPLOYEES NIAGARA ONTARIO

1ndash4 506 576

5ndash9 210 178

10ndash19 137 116

20ndash49 94 82

50ndash99 31 27

100ndash199 14 12

200ndash499 06 07

500+ 02 03

Total 1000 1000

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

Year-over-year comparisons show generally consistent

trends within Niagararsquos employer landscape The

December 2015 data reports two additional ldquolargerdquo

employers (ie those employing in excess of 500

individuals) as well as growth in micro-businesses and

small businesses employing between 20 and 49

individuals Compared to Ontario (table 6) Niagararsquos 2015

landscape was generally typical of what we observed at

the provincial level Although Niagara has proportionally

fewer micro-businesses than the province the data

suggest local strengths in establishments with 5 to 9

employees and 10 to 19 employees Niagara also sees

some slight advantages in establishments at the 20ndash49

employee range and 50ndash99 employee range

PERCENTAGE OF ALL BUSINESSES

TABLE 6 EMPLOYER SIZE DISTRIBUTION IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 22: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

20 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

This section provides a comprehensive overview of industry

employment patterns in the St CatharinesndashNiagara Census

Metropolitan Area (CMA)

Figure 8 identifies that in 2015 208 of Niagararsquos jobs were

found in the goods-producing sector As the name suggests

this sector includes all jobs in agriculture utilities resource

extraction manufacturing and construction

Table 7 sheds further light on Niagararsquos industrial profile by

providing a historical overview of industry employment In

2015 Niagararsquos three largest industries were wholesale and

retail trade accommodation and food service and health

care and social assistance Combined these three industries

represented 409 of all jobs in Niagara in 2015

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

FIGURE 8 GOODS-PRODUCING VERSUS SERVICES-PRODUCING JOBS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

Goods-producing sector Services-producing sector

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Services-producingsector 2005

765

Goods-producingsector 2005

236

Services-producingsector 2010

784

Goods-producingsector 2010

216

Services-producingsector 2015

792

Goods-producingsector 2015

208

100

80

60

40

20

0

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 23: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

21 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

TABLE 7 TOP 10 EMPLOYMENT INDUSTRIES IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2005ndash2015

INDUSTRY 2005 2010 2014 2015

Wholesale and retail trade

31400 31700 31100 34800

Accommodation and food services

20500 22200 23000 24800

Health care and social assistance

21400 22700 23000 23900

Manufacturing 26900 21500 20800 18300

Construction 12400 13400 15300 18000

Business building and support services

11200 9500 11100 14800

Educational services 12000 11900 13700 14600

Information culture and recreation

12300 12000 8400 9300

Professional scientific and technical services

7700 7700 9100 9200

Other services (except public administration)

8500 8600 6800 7900

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing

9100 7700 10100 7700

Public administration

7200 6500 8400 7500

Transportation and warehousing

7700 9000 8100 7400

Agriculture 5300 3900 4000 2900

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas ndash ndash ndash 1700

Utilities ndash 1600 1900 1500

Sources Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131

Note ndash denotes years for which data were suppressed by Statistics Canada

AVERAGE EMPLOYMENT IN NIAGARA

2005 20142010 2015

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 24: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

22 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENT

Accommodation and food services 189

Business building and other support services 151

Forestry fishing mining quarrying oil and gas 133

Agriculture 128

Construction 125

Wholesale and retail 113

Utilities 103

Information culture and recreation 102

Health care and social assistance 100

Other services (except public administration) 097

Educational services 096

Manufacturing 083

Transportation and warehousing 078

Public administration 074

Professional scientific and technical services 054

Finance insurance real estate rental and leasing 048

TOP INDUSTRIES BY EMPLOYMENT

The industries of business building and other support

services and construction saw exceptional local growth

between 2014 and 2015 These industries also saw

significant five-year growth compared to the province

Between 2010 and 2015 construction in Niagara saw a

344 increase in employment compared to 103 in

Ontario business building and other support services

grew by 558 in Niagara but only by 148 in Ontario

Agriculture one of Niagararsquos economic pillars shed nearly

25 of its workforce between 2014 and 2015 For

additional information on this industry see Focus on

Agriculture page 23

Table 8 presents the 2015 provincial location quotients for

Niagararsquos industry sectors Location quotients allow us to

measure which industries are particularly unique within a

region A location quotient of 100 as is the case in health

care and social assistance means that the local industry

has the same concentration of jobs as that of the province

as a whole In other words we are ldquopar for the courserdquo in

terms of the concentration of jobs in health care and social

assistance The higher the location quotient the more

unique a region is considered to be with respect to a given

industry Accommodation and food servicersquos location

quotient of 189 means that this sector is almost twice as

concentrated in Niagara as it is in Ontario Finance

insurance real estate rental and leasingrsquos location

quotient of 048 means that jobs in this industry are

almost half as concentrated in Niagara as they are in the

province

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

TABLE 8 INDUSTRY LOCATION QUOTIENTS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2015

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 25: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

23 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

FIGURE 9 EMPLOYMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA 2001ndash2015

8000

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

34003300

5300

66006500

5200

3900

4400 42004100 4000

2900

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0131 NWPB calculations

7400

Lab

ou

r Fo

rce

Size

35003700

Recent years have reported a considerable decline in

employment in agriculture and its related industries

(figure 9) In 2006 agriculture employed 7400

individuals in Niagara In 2014 agriculture employed

4000 individuals The 2015 employment level fell by

275 of the 2014 level to a historic low of 2900

employed individuals In an attempt to better understand

this year-over-year decline NWPB conducted a shift-share

analysis on the agriculture industry in 2014 and 2015 A

shift-share analysis allows us to understand how many jobs

were gained and lost in the agriculture industry because of

changes in the overall provincial economy changes in the

industry at the provincial level and changes in the industry

at the local level While this analysis does not explain why

these changes occurred it does show where the changes

are coming from that is whether the challenges and

opportunities facing the agriculture industry derive from

local factors or are beyond the scope of local influence

Of the net 1100 jobs in agriculture that were lost between

2014 and 2015 in Niagara approximately 266 can be

attributed to job-loss trends in agriculture at the provincial

level Growth in employment in Ontario as a whole

accounted for an increase in approximately 27 jobs in

agriculture Approximately 860 of the lost jobs in Niagara

can be attributed to local factors

These data indicate that only about one-quarter of the

losses in Niagararsquos agriculture industry are due to changes

in Ontariorsquos agriculture and agriculture-related industries

FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 26: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

24 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section drills down into Niagararsquos top

industry subsectors Industry subsectors

are a more specific grouping of the

businesses not-for-profits and charities

operating in Niagara Where the previous

section would examine construction as an

industry we would now see specialty

trade contractors as a subsector of

construction Since nearly 98 of

employers in Niagara employ fewer than

99 individuals as seen on page 18 table 9

will deal specifically with these

enterprises

2015 saw specialty trade contractors

ambulatory health care services and food

services and drinking places continue to

house the largest number of employers in

Niagara Notable year-over-year changes

were found in specialty trade contractors

which grew by 27 establishments and

crop production which shrank by 22

establishments

Table 10 shows how these changes are

reflected in subsector employment

figures Food services and drinking places

house the largest number of jobs in

Niagara This is followed by administrative

and support services and specialty trade

contractors

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

SPECIALTY TRADE CONTRACTORS ARE THE

LARGEST INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR IN NIAGARA

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 27: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

25 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

TABLE 9 TOP 10 MICRO-AND SMALL-BUSINESS INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRYDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Specialty trade contractors 994 1021

Ambulatory health care services 924 916

Food service and drinking places 918 911

Professional scientific and technical services 890 893

Administrative and support services 486 495

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

465 452

Repair and maintenance 419 410

Real estate 375 378

Construction of buildings 359 354

Crop production 365 343

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

NUMBER OF ESTABLISHMENTS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 28: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

26 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

Food services and drinking places 15461 15780

Administrative and support services 8747 8758

Specialty trade contractors 7210 7234

Ambulatory health care services 5587 6309

Professional scientific and technical services 4830 5071

Crop production 3563 3366

Religious grant-making civic and professional and similar organizations

3025 3023

Construction of buildings 2843 2611

Real estate 2005 2175

Repair and maintenance 1977 2054

Sources Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015 EMSI Analyst

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS

NUMBER OF JOBS

DECEMBER 2014 DECEMBER 2015

TABLE 10 EMPLOYMENT IN THE NIAGARA REGIONrsquoS TOP INDUSTRY SUBSECTORS 2014 AND 2015

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 29: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

27 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 30: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

28 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Zero-employee firms as seen in table 11

are the businesses that best reflect

self-employment in the Niagara region

Statistics Canadarsquos definition of a zero-

employee firm includes those operations

where all work is done by either the

owner the owner and their immediate

family or the owner and temporary

contractors Zero-employee firms also

include independent contractors even

those contractors working under the

brand or logistic support of a larger

corporate body Because of this zero-

employee firms reflect a diverse range of

employment trends

In December 2015 there were 24347

zero-employee firms operating in the

Niagara region this is a 43 increase

over the 23334 zero-employee firms

reported in December 2014

Table 11 lists the top 10 industry

subsectors by number of firms for

zero-employee firms in the Niagara

region The largest year-over-year increase

was seen in real estate which experienced

an addition of 390 businesses in 2015

(669 of the 2014 total count)

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

IN DECEMBER 2015

THERE WERE

24347 ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

OPERATING IN THE

NIAGARA REGION

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 31: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

29 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 11 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION 2014 AND 2015

INDUSTRY SUBSECTORDECEMBER 2014

DECEMBER 2015

Real estate 5826 6216

Professional scientific and technical services 2216 2242

Specialty trade contractors 1219 1268

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

895 915

Ambulatory health care services 882 902

Administrative and support services 730 784

Construction of buildings 706 706

Crop production 664 672

Management of companies and enterprises 595 602

Truck transportation 556 566

Total 14289 14873

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2014 and December 2015

NUMBER OF FIRMS

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 32: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

30 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

INDUSTRY SUBSECTOR

NIAGARA REGION ONTARIO

Real estate 2553 2117

Professional scientific and technical services 921 1251

Specialty trade contractors 521 474

Securities commodity contracts and other financial investment and related activities

376 408

Ambulatory health care services 370 388

Administrative and support services 322 338

Construction of buildings 290 290

Crop production 276 190

Management of companies and enterprises 247 283

Truck transportation 232 276

Source Canadian Business Counts December 2015

ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

Table 12 shows how much each of these subsectors

contributes to the overall zero-employee firm landscape in

Niagara and offers proportional comparisons at the

provincial level Although real estate represents slightly

more than one-quarter of all zero-employee firms in

Niagara it accounts for only about one-fifth of zero-

employee firms at the provincial level The remaining

subsectors are generally consistent between the region

and Ontario with the provincersquos slightly higher

representation in professional scientific and technical

services as the only considerable exception

PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS

TABLE 12 TOP ZERO-EMPLOYEE FIRMS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL ZERO EMPLOYEE FIRMS IN THE NIAGARA REGION VERSUS ONTARIO 2015

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 33: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

31 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

Here we examine labour force trends from

an occupational perspective Where

industry-focused measurements examine

business activities (using the North

American Industrial Classification System

or NAICS as a standard measurement)

this occupation-focused analysis uses

Canadarsquos National Occupation

Classification (NOC) system to understand

the work a person is doing Table 13

provides a high-level overview of the

employment patterns in the St

CatharinesndashNiagara CMA Please note that

these data do not differentiate between

full-time and part-time employment

On average there were 45 more jobs in

Niagara in 2015 than in 2014 The largest

concentration of these jobs can be found

in sales and service occupations The

steady growth of sales and services

occupations which accounted for 331

of all jobs in Niagara in 2015 is

representative of Niagararsquos shift toward a

services-producing economy as outlined

on page 20 While most industries posted

year-over-year gains between 2014 and

2015 two sectors saw some notable

proportional losses Most notably

occupations in manufacturing and utilities

decreased by 196 and jobs in natural

resources and agriculture fell by 73

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

SALES AND SERVICE JOBS WERE

BOTH ABSOLUTELY

AND RELATIVELY THE

MOST NUMEROUS IN THE AREA

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 34: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

32 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

OCCUPATION

Sales and service occupations 62500 62600 61600 67600

Trades transport and equipment operators and related occupations

30400 27300 29700 29500

Business finance and administration occupations 25700 25000 27400 26900

Occupations in education law and social community and government services

16500 18000 18300 21300

Management occupations 18500 16400 16600 17700

Health occupations 11800 13500 14000 13600

Natural and applied sciences and related occupations 8100 8500 8100 9200

Occupations in manufacturing and utilities 12400 10100 10700 8600

Occupations in art culture recreation and sport 4900 5400 4800 5900

Natural resources agriculture and related production occupations

4300 3700 4100 3800

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

2005 2014 2010 2015

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

TABLE 13 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINESndashNIAGARA CMA BY ONE-DIGIT NATIONAL OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION CODE 2005ndash2015

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 35: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

33 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA OCCUPATIONS

TABLE 14 TOP OCCUPATIONS IN THE ST CATHARINES-NIAGARA CMA

OCCUPATION2005 2010 2014 2015

Service support and other service occupations

14800 15300 14300 14800

Service representatives and other customer and personal services occupations

15000 14800 15400 14000

Service supervisors and specialized service occupations

9100 9700 9000 12500

Industrial electrical and construction trades 11300 9300 9900 12500

Sales representatives and salespersons - wholesale and retail trade

9000 9700 8900 10000

Administrative and financial supervisors and administrative occupations

7400 7000 8000 9500

Sales support occupations 8600 9000 7200 8800

Middle management occupations in retail and wholesale trade and customer services

9800 8000 7000 8400

Professional occupations in education services

7400 7000 6800 8000

Retail sales supervisors and specialized sales occupations

6000 4100 6800 7500

Transport and heavy equipment operation and related maintenance occupations

7000 7600 7600 7400

Total employed all occupations 195000 190400 195400 204100

Table 14 provides the top 10 occupations in Niagara at a

two-digit NOC level While this table is not inclusive of all

jobs in Niagara it provides more detailed occupations

than what is seen in table 13 while still accounting for

roughly 55 of all jobs in Niagara

Source Statistics Canada CANSIM 282-0159

AVERAGE NUMBER OF JOBS

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 36: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

34 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

NIAGARA EMPLOYERS EXPLORING HIRING PATTERNS During the production of this yearrsquos labour market report

NWPB deployed a brief questionnaire about hiring patterns

among local employers This questionnaire emerged out of

a two-year trend discovered in our Employer One survey

We observed that more than two-thirds of employers

completing the Employer One survey consistently reported

hiring through informal networks or word-of-mouth

recruiting Our questionnaire offered employers a platform

to share their reasons for hiring through these approaches

and how it worked out for them

A total of 85 employers completed our questionnaire

As seen in figure 10 these responses come from employers

of various sizes Of the 68 employers who reported hiring in

2015 838 reported that they had at some point hired

through informal networks or word-of-mouth recruiting

Of those who had hired through informal networks or

word-of-mouth recruiting 769 reported a positive

experience 192 reported a mixed experience and only

38 reported a negative experience

While these data do not represent all employers in Niagara

they do present interesting avenues for subsequent

research For example employers frequently reported that

informal hiring networks and word-of-mouth referrals

allowed them to source talent without devoting an extensive

amount of time to reviewing numerous applications from

otherwise unsuitable applicants Employers also reported

that hiring in this fashion ensured a good alignment

between the culture of their business and the background

and personality of a prospective hire this seemed

particularly prominent where applicants were engaged

through social media Numerous respondents also cited the

importance of using word of mouth recruiting to direct

applicants to a standardized hiring process

NWPB will continue to examine informal networks and

word-of-mouth recruiting in an effort to better serve both

employers and job seekers in Niagara

FIGURE 10 NIAGARA EMPLOYER SURVEY RESPONDENTS WHO REPORTED HIRING THROUGH INFORMAL NETWORKS OR WORD-OF-MOUTH RECRUITING 2016

Source Niagara Workforce Planning Board 2016

25

20

15

10

5

0

Nu

mb

er o

f Em

plo

yers

22

13

7

4

15

1211

4 3 3

66 65

9

16

1ndash4 5ndash9 10ndash19 20ndash49 50ndash99

Size of Employer Number of Employees

100ndash199 200ndash499 500+

Survey completions Used informal networks or word-of-mouth hiring

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 37: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

35 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

This section describes the initiatives that NWPB will be

undertaking or continuing in the short medium and

long term It is designed to address areas of concern or

need that were identified in our previous labour market

report or through consultation with partners and

community stakeholders As ever NWPB is open to

feedback and suggestions from the community on our

plans for the future

ACTION PLAN

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 38: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

36 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREAS OF INTEREST INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION AND TRAINING SUPPORTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT WITH CAREERS IN THE SKILLED TRADES

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivery of a pilot day in November 2015

and a second day in November 2016

NWPB District School Board of

Niagara (DSBN) Ontario

Secondary School

Teachersrsquo Federation

(OSSTF) Employment

Ontario

Expansion of program to

include additional teachers

and multiple school boards

Review feedback from participating

teachers and employers from pilot program

to improve outcomes for delivery

NWPB DSBN OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Alteration of the structure

of the event to better

accommodate both teachers

and employers

Based on feedback expand the project

to include additional school boards in the

Niagara region

NWPB Niagara Catholic District

School Board

NCDSB will be delivering a

pilot E3 program 2016

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (LESS THAN 1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Evaluate potential for greater

collaboration with Brock Universityrsquos

Faculty of Education pre-service training

program

NWPB Existing reference group

and Brock University

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Expand project to include greater

number of teachers in both DSBN and

NCDSB as well as greater number of

participating employees

NWPB DSBN NCDSB OSSTF

Employment Ontario

Increased dialogue between

Niagara educators and employers

to better prepare students for entry

into the workforce

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore potential for mentorship

activities that could emerge out of

existing relationships from the project

NWPB TBD Potential for preparing the

youth workforce for future

employment while allowing

young people to gain

additional work experience

PROJECT EMPLOYER EDUCATOR EXPERIENCE (E3)

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 39: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

37 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST AVAILABILITY OF DATA FOR FRONT-LINE SERVICE AGENCIES AND THE NIAGARA COMMUNITY AT LARGE

PROJECT LOCAL LABOUR MARKET BROCHURES

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Create a Niagara Community Data

Consortium (NCDC)

NWPB Canadian Council on

Social Development

(CCSD)

NCDC launched on April 9

2015 currently houses 10

member organizations

Created a job-demand report NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Preliminary report complete

Quarterly reports to follow

Created labour market brochures and

annual municipal fact sheets

NWPB NA Publication of municipal

labour market brochures and

subsequent feedback led to

the revised municipal fact

sheets which have become

part of annual labour market

reporting activities

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Continue job-demand reporting NWPB Employment Ontario

Vicinity Jobs

Identifying consistent

demand patterns as they

emerge as a means of

informing employment

services programing

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 40: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

38 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016

ACTION PLAN

AREA OF INTEREST EXPLORING LABOUR MARKET DEMAND IN THE NIAGARA REGION

PROJECT EMPLOYER ONE SURVEY

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Delivered the Employer

One survey in January

2015 and 2016

NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers

of commerce

sector groups

Produced a comprehensive report

and summary infographic

Developed best practices for marketing

the survey in future iterations

Produced a research proposal based on

survey results designed to explore the

hidden job market

Delivered a questionnaire on hiring through

informal networks and word-of-mouth

recruiting based on Employer One results

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver survey in 2017 NWPB Employment Ontario local

chambers of commerce sector

groups

Increase number of survey completions

and produce a comprehensive report

and summary infographic based on the

findings

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD TBD TBD TBD

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 41: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

39 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2015

AREA OF INTEREST SUPPORTING YOUTH ENGAGEMENT IN THE LABOUR FORCE AND DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO MEANINGFUL LOCAL EMPLOYMENT

PROJECT INVESTING IN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE

ACTION PROJECT LEAD PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Develop and deliver a brief student survey about youth knowledge of labour market information

NWPB NCDSB DSBN Delivered survey through NCDSB currently analyzing results expecting to deliver survey to DSBN in September

Gather information about apprenticeship programs and course requirements and form a resource data base

NWPB The Apprenticeship Focus Group

Information to be given to focus group to begin strategizing resources various dates TBD

Based on feedback from Employment Ontario and the Apprenticeship group develop draft presentation for delivery to school boards

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN NCDSB

TBD

SHORT-TERM PLANNING (1 YEAR)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Deliver presentations to schools in both school boards and further consult with Employment Ontario agencies to build interactive component into presentation for optimal engagement

NWPB Employment Ontario DSBN

NCDSB

TBD

MEDIUM-TERM PLANNING (1ndash2 YEARS)

ACTIONPROPOSED PROJECT LEAD PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

Explore the development of

specialized student presentations

for further delivery of this project

NWPB DSBNNCDSB TBD

LONG-TERM PLANNING (2ndash3 YEARS)

ACTION PROPOSED PROJECT LEAD

PROPOSED PARTNERS OUTCOMES

TBD based on feedback from

project

TBD TBD TBD

ACTION PLAN

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca

Page 42: LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT · 4 | LOCAL LABOUR MARKET PLANNING REPORT 2016 The 2016 update to the Niagara Labour Market Plan is built on an evidence-based analysis of labour

36 Page Street Suite 404 St Catharines Ontario

Phone 905-641-0801 | Fax 905-641-0308

Email infoniagaraworkforceboardca

Website wwwniagaraworkforceboardca