International Women’s Day, March 8th, 2024.
Celebrating International Women’s Day, we recognize and appreciate the hard work Hamilton’s women+ population does to contribute to our workforce. With a population 301,287 strong, Hamilton’s women workforce is a pillar of our local economy. This month’s Labour Market Snapshot highlights women in our workforce.
February 2024
Looking into the labour market last month, Hamilton’s working-age population (15+) grew by 0.2%, with an overall population of 692,500 persons. Following in tandem with Canada and Ontario, which had their populations grow by 0.3% from January to February 2024. Coinciding with the population growth, Hamilton’s labour force grew by 0.4% to 446,200 persons in February.
As the labour force consists of those employed or unemployed (including those seeking employment), Hamilton saw an increase in the number of unemployed persons (+6.3%) as population and labour force grew. Unemployment gains were seen for virtually all age groups in Hamilton’s labour force. Particularly, overall unemployment for the 15+ population (+3,600 unemployed persons), youths (+1,900 unemployed persons), core-working age (+1,400 unemployed persons), and 55+ (+200 unemployed persons).
Employment among youths (-1,100 persons) and older workers (-1,100 persons) declined in February, while some gains were seen for core-working age individuals (+400 persons). However, much of the gains seen for the core-working age group were offset by the larger losses for youths and older workers. Participation among age groups in Hamilton did not increase drastically month-over-month, with minor gains/losses (+/- 0.1).
Labour Force
Looking at the labour force characteristics of Hamilton’s women+ population, within the past 12 months, employment has gradually increased. At the macro-perspective, Hamilton’s women labour force grew by 1,100 persons in February. Coinciding with this were minor gains in employment and – following provincial trends – larger gains in unemployment.
From February 2023 to February 2024, employment among women aged 15 and over increased by 3%. Last month, employment among core-working age women (25-54) increased in the Hamilton CMA, with an increase of 2,000 women in the workforce. During this time, the unemployment rate for core-working age women declined slightly from 4.4% to 4.3%, as well as for older female workers (55+), declining by 0.2% to 3.7%. With this said, spearheading the gains in unemployment were the female youth population. In particular, female youths saw their unemployment rate increase by 3.8% to 14.8% in February.
Industries and Occupations
In February, Hamilton saw consecutive gains in employment in its major industries. Public admin, the third largest growing industry in January, was February’s top growing industry with an increase in employment of 12%. Similarly, Accommodation and Food Services saw employment increase in the industry by 11% in February. Transportation and warehousing also gained 7% in employment.
Industries which saw employment losses in January experienced consecutive losses in February as well. With Business, building and other support services losing 10% of its industry employment. Information, culture and recreation lost 8% of its workforce in February, and, similarly Manufacturing continued to see losses of 8% in their employment.
Some of the most in-demand jobs in Hamilton for February were in the nursing profession. Job postings for Registered nurses totaled almost 300, with a median wage of $42.00/hour in Hamilton. Following were Retail salespersons, Admin assistants, Retail salesperson and Licensed nurses. Of note, all of these occupations are service-related occupations and can also be considered Pink-collar jobs. Did you know – 89% of Hamilton’s nursing profession is comprised of women?
Top hiring employers in February included McMaster University (439), Hamilton Health Sciences (288), the City of Hamilton (140), and St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton (138).
Women in Hamilton’s Workforce
Spotlighting International Women’s Day today, what does representation look like for women in Hamilton’s workforce?
51% of Hamilton’s workforce population (15+ persons) is comprised of women. With this, women in Hamilton are often over-represented in the Health Care (81%), Educational Services (66%), Accommodation and Food Services industries (57%). These industries, historically, predominantly employ pink collar workers and have absorbed much of the female workforce. Pink collar jobs are typically service-oriented roles that require interpersonal skills – such as nursing, teaching, secretarial work, and social work.
On the other hand, women are often under-represented in Hamilton’s Construction (12%), Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction (18%), Utilities (22%), Transportation and Warehousing (23%); as well as Manufacturing industries (26%). On the opposite side of pink-collar jobs, these industries predominantly have a male-dominated workforce, with much of the industries employing roles in the Skilled Trades.
