Job prospects General Office Worker in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "general office worker" in Ontario or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

These outlooks were updated on November 29, 2023.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for General office support workers (NOC 14100) in Ontario for the 2023-2025 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
• Several positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• Employed in offices across the private and public sectors with the largest number in health care and social assistance and public administration

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Some job openings may arise from employee turnover since this tends to be an entry-level position
• Greater use of technology and automation to perform administrative tasks may temper opportunities in this occupation
• Consolidation of functions may moderate overall work in this field

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• Previous experience in an administrative role is an asset
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite and industry-specific software is preferred.

Here are some key facts about General office support workers in Ontario:

• Approximately 66,700 people work in this occupation.
• General office support workers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 13%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 7%
  • Other retail stores (NAICS 44-45, except 445): 6%
  • Federal government public administration (NAICS 911): 6%
  • Local, municipal, regional, aboriginal and other public administration (NAICS 913-919): 5%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 72% compared to 81% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 28% compared to 19% for all occupations
• 61% of general office support workers work all year, while 39% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 41 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• 7% of general office support workers are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 18% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 82% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 8% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 35% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 6% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 28% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 18% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 13% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Ontario by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Labour market conditions over the next 10 years

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "general office worker" General office support workers (NOC 14100) or across Canada.

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