Odd jobs in Canada in the pandemic era

With the advent of the coronavirus, the world began to change rapidly. Today it is no longer possible to plan something the same way as in 2019. The changes primarily affected the Canadian economy. 

Statistics Canada in their Business condition survey shows that from the beginning of 2021 businesses expected difficulties associated with fluctuations in their markets. Almost a third of entrepreneurs felt that their income has dropped significantly compared to 2019. 

After the shake-up in 2020, the employment situation has changed a lot. By the third quarter of 2020, 36.5 percent of businesses laid off their staff partly. Also, 35,3 percent allow working remotely for their employees. This leads to the fact that many people find themselves in search of part-time jobs or odd jobs for extra money.

Businesses Most Affected by COVID19

While some businesses have strengthened their positions, many other businesses are downsizing and unable to take on more debt. This frees up a large number of laborers who still need to feed their families.

Decrease business activity is observed at:

• Restaurant industry. Owners of those cafes who were able to stay afloat had to sharply reorient to food delivery services. According to a Canadian Restaurant Association report, 52 percent of restaurants that provided food services in June 2020 were operating at a loss. “Throughout the crisis, no other industry has faced this level of shortfall” - the report says. Many professional chefs have come to consider the jobs of a personal chef.
• Gyms. Training in facemask looks too unrealistic to exist. We all know that the COVID-19 virus spreading rapidly through gyms. Many people have given up on them even when the hard limits were lifted. Indoor gyms gave way to personal coaches who give their workouts on the fresh air or online.
• Retail. Long-suffering from e-commerce pressure, retailers were hit hard during the lockdown. Their place was taken by delivery services, from the largest such as Uber eats to individual couriers. Thus, a serious supply gap was sealed.
• Childcare. women, immigrants, and young workers under 25 years old make up the bulk of workers in this sector. Nearly 302,000 people were employed as child care workers in 2019, Canada Statistics says. Due to the remote study and work, many nannies and babysitters become not in demand, since all family members most often stay at home.

The International Labour Organization: COVID-19 and the world of work’ monitoring show that in relevant terms, for women the number of job losses in 2020 was 5 percent higher than for men. The same tendency holds for young workers, that lose their job 8.7 percent more often than the older ones.

Businesses that expand during the pandemic

At the same time, a number of other industries received additional demand. Many of them have given a breath of fresh air to self-employed contractors and those who were looking for odd jobs flowing from other types of businesses.

In addition to those already noted, the following industries have strengthened:

• Cleaning services. Stricter sanitary regulations have appeared for business offices, which has led to an increase in the number of cleanings. In addition, people started to order deep cleaning at home more often, while earlier this happened only once a season.
• Drive-in movie theaters. While concert halls and cinemas are empty, market laws continue to work. The demand for cinema is rising. While Netflix is making huge profits from series shows, local drive-in movie theaters have managed to get a piece of the pie by showing new releases.
• Game makers and sellers. Due to the new limits for going out, games for smartphones and computers have gained unprecedented popularity. In online games, users often make up for the lack of social contacts.
• Tutoring. A remote study has mixed a lot in the minds of today's students. Some parents become worried that the unusual teaching format would affect the academic performance of their children. Many tutors have begun to offer one-to-one lessons at home or online.
• Landscaping contractors and yard workers. To make up for the lack of activity, many homeowners sport in the backyard, grow plants or spend their evenings on the veranda. This has led many to strive to take more care of their yards. Along with the sales of garden tools, requests for landscaping and gardeners have increased.
• Home nursing services have increased their popularity as people tend to visit hospitals as little as possible. Due to the heavy workload associated with COVID19, some patients cannot receive proper care. Personal nurses provide invaluable assistance to people in need of care in these situations.

Having an internet presence is expensive for small businesses

Experience shows that in times of crisis there are more opportunities for people who have chosen the self-employed job than in times of stability. This was the case in 2009. And this is not surprising.

A feature of 2020 was the massive transition of business processes to online. At such times, the competition becomes more and more perceptible, and good visibility on the network is quite an expensive task.

Changes are felt in the way of communication between the business and the client. But many services that cannot be provided online are looking for new ways to get customers. Only 12.4 percent of small businesses find new customers online.

Hiring or selling platforms that allow using their sites to reach your clients have performed well recently. Cooperation of self-employed people and small businesses with such websites as Fee4Bee (hiring services) or Amazon (selling goods) is beneficial in terms of taxes, provides labor market stability, and promotes an increase in turnover.

Advantages of doing odd jobs and being self-employed in Canada

The pandemic has reduced the activity of most businesses. And some population segments, such as students and young specialists without experience, people with disabilities, foreign migrants, etc., have a more vulnerable position in the labor market. Our hiring platform gives them the opportunity to provide themselves with additional earnings.

The benefits of handyman odd jobs become especially noticeable during the coronavirus restrictions. Demand for many services remains huge, a burst pipe has to be repaired right now so you can not wait for the end of the lockdown to fix it. And while restrictions are imposed on most companies, independent contractors can continue to do the job using due care.

People who prefer to find odd jobs in Canada usually appreciate independence from bosses and restrictions, the ability to travel freely and move around different cities, work-family balance, and flexible hours.

Odd jobs popularity and rates in Canada

In Canada people most often search odd jobs for extra cash in major cities. The main financial flows and great demand are concentrated there and it is easy to find work for temporary workers. 

According to the Fee4Bee platform data, the number of requests varies on average 1000 monthly, in different cities of Canada:

 

When thinking about where to find odd jobs, people consider what exactly they do best and go look for where they might most likely come in handy. Some demands, for example for cleaning services, are currently high in any region. So you can find cleaning odd jobs for money in any city where public places are open. At the same time, some cities attract more specific temporary workers. For example, Calgary odd jobs attract labor from the construction industry. For the versatile worker, there are a lot of options of Montreal odd jobs or Ottawa odd jobs such as to paint the walls or take care of the yard.

You can be paid more or less for the same job. If you are looking for odd jobs that pay well in Canada then you may want to consider a temporary move for more successful earnings.

Here is a list of most popular odd jobs with hourly rates in different cities:

 

Experts predict that the so-called gig economy in Canada will only gain its force. This is a model whereby any business gaps are closed with the help of independent contractors, temporary workers, and consultants. All that remains for us is to become as prepared as possible for the changes that come.

People who in times of crisis do not wait for a decision from the authorities, but are able to independently find funds for their existence, are of the greatest value for any country.