Vol 4, Issue 3, April 15, 2021
Hamilton's Labour Market Connection
Your weekly news & updates from WPH!
In this week's edition: Canada's recovery kicks into high gear; Canadian's willing to reskill to find new careers; Empowering young people to close the digital skills gap; Hamilton Labour Force Information March 2021
Canada's Recovery Kicks into Higher Gear
Canada’s jobs market blew past expectations for a second straight month, one more sign the nation’s economy is on the cusp of fully recovering from the pandemic.

The economy added 303,100 jobs in March, Statistics Canada reported Friday in Ottawa. That’s triple what economists were anticipating, and follows a gain of 259,200 in February. The two-month jump was led by a rebound in a retail sector hit hardest by closures over the winter. The country has now recovered all but 296,000 of the nearly 3 million jobs lost during the pandemic.
Many Canadian's Willing to Reskills to Shift Careers
Nearly six in 10 (57 per cent) of Canadian workers are willing to reskill to get into a new career.

More women (60 per cent) say that they’d reskill given the opportunity compared to men (54 per cent), and those working part-time are more likely to reskill (62 per cent) compared to those working full-time (56 per cent), according to a Lighthouse Labs survey.

While increase in salary is an incentive in changing careers, 18 per cent of Canadians say they wouldn’t need an increase at all to make the change.
Empowering Young Talent to Close the Digital Skills Gap
The economic future is increasingly tied to technology. As we make this shift, employers are already looking to fill jobs that are more demanding, more specialized and more technical. At the same time, they desperately need the broad perspective and soft skills that employees use to solve complex problems in creative ways. It may or may not be true that the vast majority of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet, but there’s no denying that technology is rapidly accelerating the pace of workplace change.

The economic future is increasingly tied to technology. As we make this shift, employers are already looking to fill jobs that are more demanding, more specialized and more technical. At the same time, they desperately need the broad perspective and soft skills that employees use to solve complex problems in creative ways. It may or may not be true that the vast majority of jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet, but there’s no denying that technology is rapidly accelerating the pace of workplace change.
Hamilton Labour Force Information:
February 2021

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