CORNWALL, Ontario – The Eastern Ontario Training Board (EOTB) released their results of their 2020 EmployerOne Survey and found that many businesses lost employees and struggled to hire last year.
The survey was conducted across 252 businesses in SD&G and Prescott-Russell from Jan. 4, 2021 to Feb. 26, 2021.
Over two-thirds of responding businesses said that they lost employees in 2020, with only 34 per cent of businesses hiring new workers. The most common reason cited for not hiring new employees was a lack of applicants.
“Twenty-three percent of businesses reported 50% or more employees working remotely. 34% of businesses increased their workforce in 2020. Positions most often filled were in management, business and finance, health care, sales and service and trades, transport and equipment operators. A lack of applicants was the predominant reason some of these positions were difficult to fill. More than 70% of businesses lost employees during 2020,” the report reads.
More than half of all surveyed businesses said that the availability of new hires in the region was “Fair” to “Poor.”
The COVID-19 pandemic was cited as a major negative factor by most businesses.
“More than three of four businesses reported a negative impact as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by a loss of revenue, staff lay-offs, absenteeism due to family obligations, personal health concerns and fear of the virus,
labour market shortages and supply chain disruptions,” the report reads.
Of the businesses surveyed, 80 per cent had one-to-50 employees with 81 per cent of those employees being full-time. In terms of training support, 85 per cent of businesses stated that they felt they had access to the employee training they required.
