With reopening, come strong signs of economic recovery in Waterloo Region
Posted Jul 23, 2021 09:30:00 AM.
It is a sign of relief as local experts are seeing signs of an economic recovery for Waterloo Region.
The Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin, who look at the local workforce and employer data and research, found by the end of June 9,000 more people were employed.
“We also (saw) that more people were coming back into the workforce, compared to last June when we saw a lot of people leave the workforce when the pandemic hit,” said Charlene Hofbauer, the board's executive director, during Kitchener Today with Brian Bourke on 570 NEWS.
Hofbauer also shared the board saw that the region is getting closer to employment levels last seen pre-pandemic. “Our employment is off by about 6,000 people, we're seeing that there are still about 15,000 people that are not in the workforce … they've left and taken their skills with them.”
For June, the board found that there were 9,800 active online postings in the region, such as, “construction jobs, there's a need for trades helpers and labourers … our manufacturers need people, although we've been seeing manufacturing employment levels fall, there's still a significant demand for labourers and machine operators for manufacturers across our region,” said Hofbauer.
Hofbauer added there are also jobs available in trucking/transportation, as well as the food sector with online postings for cooks, and food counter attendants.
