While overall job listings declined across Nipissing and Parry Sound Districts last month, the latest employment report highlights a growing demand for healthcare professionals
Job postings across the Nipissing and Parry Sound Districts experienced a seasonal decline in October, according to the latest monthly jobs report, though the healthcare sector continues to be the largest contributor to regional employment opportunities.
Both districts saw a decrease in total postings and unique employers compared to September 2025 and October 2024, a decline noted as typical for the time of year.
Nipissing District Trends
The Nipissing District recorded 450 job postings in October, representing a month-over-month decrease of 6.4% and a year-over-year decrease of 9.8%. A total of 213 unique employers posted jobs, down 5.3% from the previous month.
Top Industry: Health Care and Social Assistance (NAICS 62) remained the dominant sector, accounting for 30.9% (139) of all postings. This sector was the only major industry to see a month-over-month increase in listings (+4.3%).
High-Demand Roles: The top five positions sought were overwhelmingly in healthcare: Registered Nurse, Social and Community Service Workers, Registered Practical Nurse, Nurse Aides, and Home Support Workers.
Wages: The average hourly wage listed was $29.73, up 3.9% from the 12-month average. The average annual salary listed was $77,465.79. Only 1.3% of hourly postings were at the provincial minimum wage of $17.20/hour.
Top Employers: North Bay Regional Health Centre, Nipissing University, and West Nipissing General Hospital were among the top organizations recruiting.
Parry Sound District Highlights
The Parry Sound District recorded 108 job postings, seeing a decline of 8.5% month-over-month and 16.3% year-over-year.
Top Industry: Similar to Nipissing, Health Care and Social Assistance led the way, accounting for 32.4% (35) of all postings, also showing the largest month-over-month increase (+8.7%).
Job Term: A higher share of postings in Parry Sound (66.7%) were for full-time positions compared to Nipissing (64.0%).
Wages: The average hourly wage was $29.62, significantly higher than the 12-month average (+9.8%). Crucially, none of the hourly wage postings were listed at the provincial minimum wage. The average annual salary listed was $70,270.20.
Top Employers: West Parry Sound Health Centre was the leading employer, followed by Wasauksing First Nation and the Near North District School Board.
Occupational and Requirement Snapshot
In both districts, the Sales and Service occupational category accounted for the largest percentage of all postings (27.6% in Nipissing and 28.7% in Parry Sound).
Demand for bilingual individuals was higher in Nipissing, where 18.7% of postings required bilingualism, compared to 5.6% in Parry Sound. The vast majority of positions in both regions were permanent (over 82%).
The report indicates that while the overall job market cooled slightly in October, the need for healthcare professionals remains the most critical and consistent demand across the Northern Ontario districts.