Job prospects Office Assistant in Ontario

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

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