The executive director of the Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board is welcoming the Ontario government's plans to increase minimum wage next year.
Premier Doug Ford announced new legislation Tuesday that, if approved, will see the provincial minimum wage increase to $15 per hour as of January 1, 2022.
Laura Greaves thinks it's a very positive step for current employees and job seekers.
"It obviously reflects the increased cost of living in our community and across the province as well," said Greaves.
She said some in the small business community may not welcome the plan.
"This will obviously be a challenge for some of them, certainly at a time when they are still facing many COVID-19 challenges."
But, Greaves added, many employers looking to hire right now have already increased pay and benefits, and some have offered signing bonuses, to attract and retain staff.
"Tracking the number of job postings, of 1,800 job postings in September, about 100 of them came up as minimum wage jobs. So, it's really a relatively small portion of the job postings that we're seeing."
Greaves expects increasing minimum wage will help fill vacancies in some struggling industries.
"From the peak in July when, really, all of the industries had a number of job postings, the big ones -- healthcare and retail -- have come down a little bit, but in accommodation and food services there are still many, many, extra job postings up there."
Greaves said she will be tracking the number of minimum wage jobs moving forward to see if they go up.
"As we move the minimum wage up, does that mean that all of those job postings that were a little over minimum wage will now be minimum wage job postings, or will those employers now raise their wages also," she wondered.
