Online job boards are becoming an increasingly important tool for local employers looking to hire.
A recent survey of 300 Sarnia-Lambton businesses found that job boards were the number one method of recruitment in 2021.
Laura Greaves, the executive director of the Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board (SLWDB), said the EmployerOne Survey shows the role of technology in recruitment continues to grow.
This is really good news for us partly because we track the online job postings, but more importantly, job postings reach a much larger audience when they're online. So, for employers that are looking to fill roles and certainly having problems, posting the job online, you're more likely to have more people look at it."
Greaves said over the previous eight years, the survey showed that word of mouth, personal contact and informal networks was the number one method of recruitment.
Sarnia Lambton Workforce Development Board Executive Director Laura Greaves. (Submitted Photo)
Greaves said another takeaway from the recent survey is that the area is seeing growth in terms of the number of jobs.
"This year, 215 employers said that they hired 4,222 employees, and this is a huge jump from last year when 178 employers said that they hired about 2,200 people. So, that's a very good sign for our local economy."
Twenty-eight per cent of businesses said they'll be looking to expand in 2022.
Greaves said there were far fewer layoffs and far more quits reported this year.
"The fewer number of layoffs is obviously good news, it shows a little bit of a rebound from COVID. But the higher number of quits indicates that employers will have to make a stronger case for keeping their best employees."
Greaves said the community is seeing a move to a job seekers' market, something employers should be prepared for.
She also said the community's unemployment rate went from 8.5 per cent in October to 7.2 per cent in December 2021, meaning roughly 4,800 people were looking for work at year's end.
"I think my point here is there are still people out there looking for jobs. So, I hope that those job seekers look at this data and start to identify areas of opportunity."
Greaves said there could be a skills gap in the community and asked 'What supports do we have to provide people with skills to fill a position?'
This is the ninth year SLWDB has hosted its EmployerOne Survey. Greaves said 279 businesses that took part in last year's survey, up from 54 in the first year.
-With files from Natalia Vega
