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11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,January 13,2022 insidehalton.comwww.shoppersdrugmart.ca 2501 Third Line905-465-3000 478 Dundas Street West905-257-9737NOW OPEN24 HRS EVERY DAY • Patient Counselling • Complete Diabetic Care• Home Visits • Consultations • Free RX Delivery• Free Nutrition Counselling • Vaccinations• Cholesterol, A1C, AFib and DNA Screening lw ys Here toelp You! DE RANGO PHARMACY INC. w 2501 T905-465-3000 • P• H • C AlwaHelp Pharmacist -Fabio De Rango Drug Store/Pharmacy PLATINUM WINNER 2021 business will be different for each individual organi- zation, but a few broad trends can be identified. In the case of restau- rants and tourism-focused businesses, the region has already witnessed the clo- sure of a number of popular local restaurants. Those businesses have repeatedly pointed to ever-changing government restrictions combined with a popula- tion that is uneasy about being in public as the rea- son for their struggles. On the other side, busi- nesses involved in home improvement have widely been reporting that they are seeing remarkable prof- its. Caddo and other cham- ber officials have speculat- ed that the reason for that is when people are confined to their homes, many of them decide to start renovations or even install a pool. The unemployment rate has been inconsistent as well. Following the March 2020 declaration of a state of emergency due to the pan- demic, unemployment spiked as companies closed or laid people off in re- sponse. As the situation be- came more stable, the un- employment rate both in the region and across the province returned to large- ly normal levels. However, what compa- nies across Halton have been experiencing is a sig- nificant challenge in find- ing people to hire. Melanie Frazer, execu- tive director of the Halton Hills Chamber of Com- merce, said they're seeing hiring issues that have been complicated by the pandemic. "What we're hearing from our members (is) that they're just struggling to get unskilled labour. So, whether that be retail or kind of minimum wage, en- try-level, warehousing or labour positions, those companies are struggling quite a bit to find employ- ees. And they were before the pandemic and the pan- demic actually only exacer- bated it," said Frazer. Struggles with finding employees are being expe- rienced across the region. Scott Wallace, president of the recently closed Bur- lington Taxi, specifically cited the challenges with hiring as one of the key rea- sons for the closure of the business. "My phone's ringing off the hook, but I can't find people to do the work. And, you know, my other busi- ness is very much the same -- we have other business interests, but it's the same thing, I got more work than I know what to do with. I can't find people to do it," said Wallace. The COVID-19 Business Survey conducted by Hal- ton Region alongside local municipalities received over 700 responses from the local business community. Respondents cited a short- age of employees as one of the three biggest challeng- es facing their business. The other two most com- mon responses were eco- nomic uncertainty and sup- ply chain or logistics dis- ruptions. Disruptions to the inter- national supply chain have been affecting everything from the arrival of Christ- mas presents to the opera- tion of major manufactur- ers. Caddo said it's had real impacts on local business too. "Everything is backed up. I heard from the Alder- shot BIA there's restau- rants that can't get buns for sandwiches, and they had to close down because they couldn't get their baking material in," said Caddo. "Manufacturers are behind from supply chain hang- ups. You know, you hear about that across the coun- try, but it affects Burling- ton businesses." Despite the unusual stakes, there are a number of reasons to be optimistic about the future of Halton business and the associated job market. There is some evidence that one effect of the pan- demic is that it has renewed people's support for buying local. Campaigns like the Hal- ton Hills chamber's Sup- port Local program re- ceived enthusiastic sup- port. "People have rediscov- ered their communities in a sense. So, I'm optimistic for that. I'm optimistic when I see that new businesses are still springing up. I think that's amazing and it speaks to, just the human nature of wanting to make something special and to make your mark. But I think 2022 will be a better year than we've seen for the past two years," said Frazer. There's also growing op- timism that the COVID-19 pandemic and its associat- ed uncertainties are com- ing to an end. According to the Halton Region Economic Review 2020, there are over 200,000 jobs available in a wide va- riety of industries. The me- dian income of the region as of the 2016 census continues to be above the national average at $42,577. Those numbers were af- fected by the pandemic, but experts say the core strength of the local econo- my is still very much there. Holly Einboden with Halton Region said the rea- sons that have consistently made the area an attractive place for business and job seekers are as true today as they were before the pan- demic. "Halton has a highly- skilled, in-demand labour force that continues to have among the lowest unem- ployment rates within the Greater Toronto and Ham- ilton areas. Access to skilled talent and prime employment lands is a key consideration for compa- nies looking to invest in the region and continues to draw significant industrial and commercial invest- ment and development ac- tivity," said Einboden. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: The disruption of the pandemic has caused a substantial impact on the job market. With that in mind, we wanted to take a closer look at what it has meant for how people earn a living in Halton. NEWS Continued from page 3 Terry Caddo, president/CEO of the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, says there are plenty of businesses looking for employees, but ongoing economic struggles continue. Graham Paine/Metroland EMPLOYMENT RATES VARY WIDELY AMONG INDUSTRIES Metroland graphic Halton Unemployment Rate *March. 17, 2020 - State of Emergency declared in Ontario as a result of COVID-19 Source: Statistic Canada's Labour Force Survey 0 3 6 9 12 15 2018 1st Quarter 2018 2nd Quarter 2018 3rd Quarter 2018 4th Quarter 2019 1st Quarter 2019 2nd Quarter 2019 3rd Quarter 2019 4th Quarter 2020 1st Quarter* 2020 2nd Quarter 2020 3rd Quarter  Halton  Ontario Never miss a deal with your shopping list on Save.ca. Selected items are sorted by store, making your day-to-day shopping experience a real money saver. Shopping locally is the best way to support our communities. 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