A new report by the Toronto Region Board of Trade and United Way Toronto expects 500,000 more job positions to open up in the next five years, although not all of them with a contract or benefits. Some of these jobs will be low paying, temporary or contract jobs, the report says. The report forecasts that there will be 271,721 new jobs opening up as well as 248,160 retirements on the horizon.
“There are downward pressures on the labour market, which are effectively displacing youth and newcomers from those positions, which they have traditionally held,” says the Toronto Star report. “The large number of applicants for low-paying and entry-level positions is remarkable. As the number of middle income jobs has continued to decline, a bifurcated labour market of high-income jobs and low-income service jobs is becoming the norm.”
Top in-demand jobs in the Greater Toronto Area were predicted to be retail salespersons, followed by financial auditors and accountants, administrative assistants, retail and wholesale trade managers. The sector that will lose the most jobs is predicted to be the manufacturing sector.