Uncertainty over why job postings declined in Sudbury and Manitoulin over last year

The number of new job postings online in some parts of northeastern Ontario is shrinking, according to a local labour research group.

In a report, Workforce Planning for Sudbury and Manitoulin notes a 13 per cent drop in new job postings in 2024 compared to the year before. 

That's across most sectors like retail, customer service, nursing, transport, trade and finance.

Executive director Reggie Caverson says the organization isn't sure how to explain that trend. 

"The numbers have gone down, we don't know if that's because employers have filled vacancies, or if they've rejigged their operations so they don't need as many employees," she said. 

"We do know there's been a trend toward using different technologies in the workplace. It's hard for us to know what's actually happening." 

Caverson says the decline doesn't necessarily suggest an economic downturn. She points out there are still some 2,000 new postings every month in the area. 

According to an employer survey recently carried out by the group, several are turning away from online platforms to find staff. 

"Employers are looking at different ways to recruit," said Caverson. "Word of mouth, the networks that they have, family members of current employees, they try to hire that way."

The owner of Nickle Landscaping, Tyler Shea, says his company is trying to move away from online job postings. 

Since 2009, the company has found almost all of its employees by advertising openings on the internet. It's never had problems with retention until a couple of years ago.

"We typically get a hundred resumes per posting," he said. "We do about 10 to 15 hires per season. We only need about five or six, but that's just how many we go through." 

She says many applicants are inexperienced and ultimately uninterested in the work. He says many of the new recruits don't stick around.