(Becky Zimmer/northeastNOW Staff)

By Becky Zimmer

employment

Work available for those looking in Humboldt area; chamber

Aug 21, 2021 | 8:00 AM

Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce recently touched base with local businesses to see how COVID-19 has impacted job vacancies.

The chamber sent out a questionnaire to their members with the first two dozen respondents collectively reporting that they had 72 openings as of Aug. 13.

Brent Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of the Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce, stated in a release that the skill sets of these openings “ran the gamut from entry level to professional positions and everything in between.”

“These numbers indicate that there are strong opportunities for anyone who is looking for work, to find gainful employment, no matter what skills or background they bring with them.”

In an interview with northeastNOW, Fitzpatrick said there are folks who used the COVID-19 pause to get further training and go back to school and there are some that are enjoying their time at home. However, local businesses still need people back.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

14h ago

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

“As businesses want to reemerge like become fully integrated into the economy, they’re being hamstrung by a staffing challenge.”

For Fitzpatrick, he can picture the COVID gap being a hindrance on people’s resumes as they eventually return to work and explain what they did during the two year gap.

“As an employer, if I’m looking at a resume and I see a two year kind of a gap in their employment history between 2020 and 2022 that sort of thing, I’m going to ask why, why would you not find work.”

According to Statistics Canada, in April 2020 there was 100,000 job closures in Canada and “coupled with restrictions on economic activity, led to a significant decrease in employment.”

By the beginning of August, Statistics Canada was reporting 231,000 jobs added in June and 94,000 in July as businesses started to open back up following the lifting of COVID restrictions.

“Canada is still 246,400 jobs, or 1.3 per cent, shy of pre-pandemic employment levels seen in February 2020 and threats to the economy’s recovery loom,” reported The Canadian Press on Aug. 6.

Currently, on Saskjobs there are 164 openings in the Humboldt region. Anyone looking for work is encouraged to contact the Chamber of Commerce.

– With files from The Canadian Press

—

becky.zimmer@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @bex_zim