More job stability reported by area employers, survey finds

Results from a recent survey of local employers suggests a drastic dip in the number of people who left their jobs last year, compared to a year earlier.

Overall there were 1,058 separations — layoffs, retirements, quits, dismissals — reported by the 263 respondents in the annual Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board’s (SLWDB) EmployerOne Survey.

That’s way down from the 4,700 reported a year earlier, by about 300 respondents, said SLWDB executive director Mikelle Bryson-Campbell.

Among those 1,060 separations, from April 2022 until the end of March 2023, the proportion of those leaving was also higher — 55 per cent, compared to 32 per cent a year earlier.

The percentages of layoffs was lower, as was the percentage who left for paid or unpaid leaves.

Dismissals and retirements held relatively steady at around 10 per cent each.

“This was really interesting,” Bryson-Campbell said about the year-over-year discrepancy.

Why people were leaving, or not, is less clear, she said.

Leaving to look after children, or because of mask or vaccine mandates could be among the reasons, she said.

Also, “there were less layoffs, so employers are maybe getting the sense of ‘it’s hard to hire.’”

As has been the case in successive survey years60 per cent of participants said they had trouble filling jobs either because of unqualified applicants, applicants without enough motivation, not enough applicants, or no applicants at all, among other reasons.

“We do hear that there’s not enough people, as well as the qualifications,” Bryson-Campbell said.

“Sometimes we hear from employers as well as job seekers that there’s a bit of a mismatch of expectations — what the employer is looking for. What the job seeker is looking for.”

Meanwhile, 71 per cent of respondents said they plan to hire in the coming year, meaning about 1,300 jobs.

“There’s still employers looking to hire,” Bryson-Campbell said. “There’s still a lot of jobs out there that aren’t being filled.”

The local unemployment rate in January was 7.7 per cent, up from a 20-year low of 4.3 per cent last June.

“Both job seekers and employers have had to adjust to the impact that this fluctuation has had on job demand in the community,” Bryson-Campbell said in the Local Labor Market Plan report released in February.

Part of that plan focuses on recruitment and retention, including getting more people working who aren’t looking, she said.

Last year, a board study looking at Sarnia-Lambton’s participation rate — noted as one of the lowest in the province at just over 60 per cent — found half of respondents not working or not looking for work had a physical or cognitive disability, despite most being college or university educated.

The main barrier identified was failed previous attempts to find a job, the report says.

“We hear from our partners that sometimes there is, I guess, the myth that it’s expensive or they have to pay for a lot of accommodations and extra training (to hire someone with a disability),” Bryson-Campbell said.

“And often that isn’t the case. That’s something we’re looking to share and really get the information out (about).”

Similarly, the development board is focusing on getting employers to hire newcomers and from the growing number of international students at Lambton College, she said.

EmployerOne survey participants were also asked, for the first time this year, the likelihood of hiring international talent.

Thirty-four per cent said somewhat or very likely, 28 per cent said somewhat or very unlikely, and the rest were unsure.

Many students surveyed at Lambton College say they would stay if they could find a job, but can’t, Bryson-Campbell said.

“So that’s definitely an area we would like to support in the future as well.”

Meanwhile, the participation dip for the survey, designed to help assess the local landscape for employers and job seekers, is disappointing but not surprising, she said.

“Employers are busy,” she said. “They’re dealing with staff shortages, they’re sometimes having to work themselves on the floor, on the front line.

“So they have a lot on their plate. I think that can certainly explain some of it.”

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