• The number of postings was consistently between 3,000 and 4,000 per month through 2018.
• In 2019, it increased to around 5,000 per month.
• Dropped back down in 2020 (Covid).
• Rose steadily between May 2020 and July 2021.
• By mid-2021 was at 8,000 to 9,000 job postings per month. July 2021 was 9,249 and August 2021 was 8,142.

“I don’t think there’s a good awareness of the jobs in the industry.”

• Average number per week 1,282
• Highest number 3,094 (July 17, 2021)
• Lowest 454 (January 2, 2021)
• Increased by about 20 jobs per week on average
• Increased nearly 1,000 jobs from about 750 in July 2020 to 1,750 in July 2021

“We want generally for people to live within a commute of the Office whether we’re working remotely or not, because we hope not to always be working remotely so you know we’re hiring now.”

“Those [transit infrastructure projects] are a great opportunity that that will be long, long term growth for both employment from design right down to construction.”

Looking at the 12 month period, you can see how Design/Architecture was tracking with all postings but then jumps higher and stays above (relatively speaking since the number of postings is always higher for all). The interviews indicated that this higher level is partly influenced by the significant investments in infrastructure that have recently occurred. Although at a slightly higher level, Design/Architecture job posting activity still tracks to overall number of postings. So, the growth in the number of job postings most likely reflects the overall job market rather than something specific to the Design Sector.

“Coming out of the pandemic, a lot of firms [were] nervous [about] acquiring [new employees], or even getting a job because [no one knew] what the market [was] like and how much work [would or wouldn’t] be [available].””