Page 13 - Huronia Community Foundation - 2023 Vital Signs Report

The HCF surveys also revealed that 58% of
employer respondents have trouble finding
employees, while 35% of them require at least
college preparation. Of those, only 50% pay
more than a living wage. Of the respondent
employers who paid a living wage, only 19%
provided health benefits, and 8% offered
pensions (6).
The median employment income of the
13,930 income earners in Midland and
Penetanguishene was $31,200 and $32,400
respectively in 2020 (7). In the rental market,
the average monthly rent for an apartment in
Midland was $1,089 in October 2021, assuming
an apartment could be found with a vacancy
rate below 2% (8).
The local Employment Ontario Employment
Service, which the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka
runs, has seen a distinct decline in the number
of job seekers looking for work — half that of
pre-pandemic days. Of particular concern is
that fewer youth in the area are looking for
work. “Like everyone else right now, youth
are increasingly able to secure employment
without using the usual channels and tools.
They don’t need an employment program. In
some cases, they may not even need a resume.
But the lack of youth using our services
is concerning. We are seeing an ongoing
reluctance to reengage with social life and the
labour market coming out of the pandemic.
The increase in mental health concerns is
deeply troubling,” says Cristan Cooper, who
manages youth employment programs at the
YMCA in Midland.
“Then there is the fact that youth who are not in
school and are looking for work…have vanished.
Pre-pandemic, we’d have seen more than
70 youth per year taking a paid employment
program, who ultimately found suitable jobs. In
2023, we’ll be lucky to see 30 youth.”
Solutions to the challenge of the labour
shortage have included increases to wage
rates, and increasingly, the offer of benefit
packages, even in industries which traditionally
have never done so, such as restaurants.
“It’s encouraging,” says
Martina Wahl, Team Leader
at the employment centre.
“We’re seeing employers
get really creative and much
more open to reassessing
job qualifications, and they’re
more flexible with work schedules and other
accommodations.”
Similarly, wages are indeed increasing
nationally in response to worker demands
and inflation, though the trend is decidedly
in favour of those already on the higher end
of the wage scales. “In October (2022), nearly
two-thirds (64.3%) of employees with wages
above $40.00 per hour had received a raise in
the previous year, compared with half (50.1%)
of those with wages of $20.00 or less per
hour (population aged 15 to 69; not seasonally
adjusted)(9). Better wages and benefits don’t
always mean the jobs are easy to fill, however.
“Seasonal jobs are increasingly hard to fill,”
says Wahl, “but so are what we consider good
jobs – those featuring reasonable wages with
prospects for long term employment. Workers
are responding accordingly and leaving jobs
B R I GH T L I GH T
Test Batches Brewery, Midlander Jamie Tripp
exuberantly peers around the former Bourgeois
Ford Dealership. “After a long process, we have an
agreement with the town to complete our dream of
building a craft brewery and craft confectionery. The
work on the building has begun and we look forward
to welcoming guests in the spring of 2023.”
North Simcoe and Area’s Vital Signs Report 2023 | 13