A recruiting company says these 15 jobs are the most 'in demand' in Canada

A person is seen typing on a Surface device in this undated file photo. (Photo by Christina Morillo from Pexels)

Thinking about a career change as the cost-of-living crisis continues to unfold? A career in customer service might be an easy swap, according to recruiters.

HR and recruitment company Randstad Canada released a list this week of what it believes will be the 15 most in-demand jobs in Canada this year, according to its data.

The list ranges from sales positions to trades such as welding.

It was compiled by examining online job postings across Canada and cross-referencing this data with internal statistics based on what Randstad’s clients are looking for the most in employee roles, according to a spokesperson. There were far more job postings for the 15 careers on the list than others, the spokesperson added, without providing specific statistics.

"We look at variations that will also give us insights into how the market changes. They evaluate the year-over-year variation to determine which jobs are trending," she said in an email to CTVNews.ca. "Thus, we are referring to the jobs that have more online job openings, however the time to fill metric is not taken into consideration here. They evaluate the year-over-year variation to determine which jobs are trending."

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Randstad recruiters said they predict that 2024 will come with more varied employment opportunities, including in fields where a university education is not necessarily required.

“Today's market offers an impressive diversity of interesting opportunities, among which any job seeker can find something they like,” Brent Dul, executive vice-president at Randstad Canada, said in a press release. “It's a good time to reflect on your aspirations and look for a role that matches your career goals, no matter how many diplomas you have.”

Read more: Looking for a job or career change? These skills will be in high demand in Canada in 2024

While employment rates have been fairly steady in Canada for the past few months, unemployment has been trending higher compared to last year. 

The unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent in December, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. A total of 1.2 million people were unemployed in December, an increase of 19 per cent compared to 12 months earlier. In 2023, the growth of population outstripped employment growth, meaning employment rates decreased for Canadians aged 25 to 54, considered the “core-aged” employment group.

This is the list of the most in-demand jobs for 2024, according to Randstad Canada:

1. Administrative assistant—average salary between $37,000-99,000
2. Sales associate--$46,000-84,000
3. Scheduler/planner--$46,000-84,000
4. HR business partner--$75,000-156,000
5. Logistics coordinator--$62,000-122,000
6. Customer service representative--$43,000-74,000
7. Marketing manager--$62,000-122,000
8. Mechanical engineer--$66,000-131,000
9. Financial analyst--$62,000-142,000
10. Pharmaceutical assistant--$40,000-60,000
11. Accounting technician--$39,000-114,000
12. Software developer--$68,000-137,000
13. Electrician--$55,000-77,000
14. Development and Operations Process Engineer (DevOps)--$66,000-131,000
15. Welder--$40,000-74,000

Customer-focused roles are some of the most in-demand as we embark on a new year, according to the recruitment firm. Salary ranges it provided depend on the role, such as whether it’s an entry-level position or a management position.

Several of the most in-demand jobs are ones that can also be performed remotely, overlapping with Randstad Canada’s top 10 remote jobs that are trending in 2024, which was released on Jan. 3. The overlaps include administrative assistant, customer service representative, sales associate, financial analyst and software developer.

“We know that workers in 2024 are increasingly looking for flexibility, and positions requiring face-to-face presence can pose challenges in this respect. Employers looking to fill these positions must be creative to attract job seekers," Dul said.