Job prospects Administrative Assistant in Ontario

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "administrative assistant" in Ontario or Canada.

Job opportunities in Ontario

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for Administrative assistants (NOC 1241) in Ontario for the 2022-2024 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• Several positions will become available due to retirements.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• Employed across all industries with the leading share in educational services, public administration, professional, scientific and technical services, and finance and insurance

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Ongoing need for administration and office support across businesses and departments will support work in this occupation
• There may be some opportunities for virtual assistants to support multiple clients
• Greater use of technology may temper job growth and change some job functions

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• Completion of a college diploma in administration or previous experience in a clerical role may be required
• Some employers may require assistants to have experience in a particular industry

What Other Information Will I Find Helpful?

• There may be fewer employment opportunities in educational services during the summer months

Here are some key facts about Administrative assistants in Ontario:

• Approximately 81,850 people work in this occupation.
• Administrative assistants mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Elementary and secondary schools (NAICS 6111): 9%
  • Construction (NAICS 23): 8%
  • Religious, grant-making, civic, and professional and similar organizations (NAICS 813): 6%
  • Management and administrative services (NAICS 55, 56): 6%
  • Monetary Authorities - central bank and securities, commodity contracts and other intermediation and related activities (NAICS 521, 522, 523): 5%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 77% compared to 79% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 23% compared to 21% for all occupations
• 63% of administrative assistants work all year, while 37% 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 33 weeks compared to 31 weeks for all occupations.
• 5% of administrative assistants are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 6% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 94% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 34% compared to 27% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: less than 5% compared to 6% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 36% compared to 26% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 19% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 10% 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 "administrative assistant" Administrative assistants (NOC 13110) or Canada.

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