Help Wanted: Shortage of employees choking growth of local economy

Glen Cook’s moving company has been a going concern in Windsor for three generations, but now he can’t find new employees to expand.

Cook said he would hire six to 10 workers and add new trucks if he could find the help.

“I have to turn down about 30 per cent of the calls I get to book dates,” said the owner of Glen’s Moving.

“I’ve been in business for 42 years and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it. Every businessman I know, from movers to tool and die and mould makers, is having this problem.”

Ontario Chamber of Commerce members cite the inability to find new employees as their biggest problem, according to the results of a survey released in February. Of the 60 per cent of businesses looking to hire, 82 per cent experienced difficulty finding employees.

It’s a global war for talent

With the unemployment rate in the Windsor region hovering around five per cent over the past year, filling vacancies has been a challenge for many businesses.

There were 2,752 job openings in Windsor-Essex in March. Since last August that number of unfilled jobs has ranged from about 2,500 to just over 3,100.

Most of the vacancies were in sales and business development (15 per cent), hospitality (14 per cent), manufacturing (13 per cent), logistics (10 per cent) and construction (seven per cent).

Loblaws, Scotiabank, Shoppers Drug Mart, Windsor Regional Hospital and Magna International are among the firms listing the most openings in recent months.

Leaving these jobs unfilled comes with a hefty price tag — $600 million a year in lost revenue, according to Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce president Matt Marchand.

“Businesses are turning down work because they don’t have enough employees to take it on,” he said. “It tells us the economy isn’t performing to its full capacity.”

For many construction firms it’s just about retaining business, said Dave Colle, president of the Heavy Construction Association of Windsor and Southwestern Ontario regional manager with Coco Paving…Readmore