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Every day, thousands of job postings go online, communicating the skills, qualifications and responsibilities currently demanded by Canadian employers. On the surface, these listings serve a straightforward purpose: connecting employers with jobseekers. However, beyond connecting jobseekers and employers, these online job postings (OJPs) also offer a hidden layer of insight – high-frequency data on current labour market trends and skill demand.
Traditional labour market data often relies on surveys and historical trends, making it difficult to capture real-time changes in employer needs. OJPs, on the other hand, offer valuable insights into emerging trends, in-demand skills and changing labour market dynamics.
In this blog, we explore how LMIC’s latest research leverages OJP data to decode in-demand skills, uncover complex relationships between competencies and inform better workforce decisions.
What online job postings tell us (and what they don’t)
Beyond the job listing – valuable labour market data
OJPs do more than list open positions. They provide a real-time snapshot of which skills are in demand, which industries are expanding and how roles are evolving.
In 2023 alone, LMIC analyzed over three million job postings, revealing 4,552 unique skills sought by employers. A closer look at the data shows that demand for skills is highly concentrated. A staggering 84% of these unique skills appear in less than 0.02% of job postings, meaning only a small subset of skills is consistently in demand. The top three most in-demand skills across all postings were teamwork, communication skills and customer service, highlighting the continued importance of soft skills in today’s labour market.
Challenges in job posting data
While OJPs offer rich insights, they also come with limitations. Employers sometimes list more qualifications than are truly necessary, making it challenging for jobseekers to determine what is essential. Some critical skills are expected but not explicitly stated in postings, leading to gaps in understanding. Additionally, many job postings are for professional and office-based jobs, meaning fields such as skilled trades are often underrepresented.
Why it matters: By analyzing job posting data, we can go beyond simple job-candidate matching. These insights help identify potential skills shortages, forecast workforce transitions and support the development of data-driven workforce policies.
Understanding skills in context
Mapping skills across roles
Our analysis of OJPs found that skills are not confined to specific occupations. Instead, they span multiple industries and job functions, revealing an interconnected web of competencies that shape the workforce. A skill in high demand for one profession may also be essential in another, sometimes in unexpected ways.
“Employers sometimes list more qualifications than are truly necessary, making it challenging for jobseekers to determine what is essential.”
Analyzing this data reveals how certain competencies are increasingly in demand and how roles are changing due to technological advancements and evolving business needs.
To better understand these relationships, LMIC’s research employs three key methodologies:
- Frequency analysis identifies how often certain skills appear across job postings, helping to pinpoint the most sought-after competencies.
- Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information (NPMI) measures the strength of association between different skills and job roles, uncovering patterns that might not be immediately obvious.
- Predictor models identify the directional relationships between skills, indicating that if a job requires one skill, it is likely to require another.
For more details on these methodologies, check out the full report: Connecting Skills Using Online Job Postings.
Connecting skills to opportunities
Skills are not confined to single occupations — they often bridge multiple roles and industries. Recognizing these connections provides a clearer picture of career mobility and workforce adaptability. As traditional roles evolve, jobseekers can use this insight to identify new opportunities where their existing skills remain valuable, even in different sectors.
Strategic guidance for career development professionals
By examining the connections between skills and occupations, career development professionals can gain deeper insights into labour market trends. This knowledge enables them to offer more precise guidance, helping jobseekers adapt to evolving workforce demands and position themselves for future opportunities.
How career development practitioners and employers can use this data
1. Identifying labour market shifts
OJP data not only provides a snapshot of the present but also offers a window into future labour market needs. By tracking shifts in job postings, career professionals and policymakers can anticipate skill shortages and help prepare the workforce for upcoming demands.
2. Aligning workforce strategy with market trends
For employers, staying ahead of hiring trends is crucial. By analyzing which skills are increasingly in demand, businesses can refine their recruitment efforts, upskill their workforce and ensure their teams are prepared for industry shifts.
3. Data-driven decision-making
Labour market data has long been used to inform economic policies, education programs and workforce planning. With OJP data, organizations have access to near real-time insights, allowing for more agile decision-making regarding hiring, training and career development initiatives.
Tapping into the power of high-frequency labour market data
As Canada’s job market rapidly evolves, staying ahead of trends is essential for making informed workforce decisions. Traditional labour market reports provide valuable historical insights, but OJPs offer a real-time, dynamic perspective on emerging skill demand and industry shifts.
Harnessing this data effectively ensures that workforce strategies remain agile, data-driven and responsive to the shifting demands of the labour market.
Curious about how to unlock the full potential of online job posting data? Join our upcoming webinar, Unravelling Online Job Postings: A Powerful Way to Decipher Canada’s Labour Market, where we’ll dive deeper into these insights and discuss actionable strategies for workforce development.
