ontario jobs

Crowds lining up to apply at Ontario McDonald's shows reality of current job market

For months, social media has been rife with horror stories of people applying to dozens, hundreds, even 1,000-plus jobs in Ontario with no success, underscoring the nerve-racking plight of anyone looking for work in this ridiculously tough market.

Hiring events across the GTA, in particular, are regularly seen with lineups out the door and around buildings, whether at restaurants, retail storessecurity firmsmulti-vendor career fairs or fast food joints such as Tim Hortons and McDonald's.

Similar to a viral video that showed hundreds waiting to submit their resume to a Kitchener McD's last summer, footage of crowds of alleged candidates outside another GTA location of the ubiquitous chain has people fretting about the state of the economy and the region's high (and worsening) unemployment rate.

Shared by local viral content accounts on Friday, the quick clip filmed from a passing vehicle at an Oshawa McDonald's shows a sea of young people snaking around the restaurant's parking lot, many of them with backpacks and a few holding umbrellas as they wait under the hot sun.

The filmer simply mumbles some expletives in awe of the turnout.

With more than 110k views in just a few hours, the post has drawn countless comments calling the video and the province's job market in general "wild" and "devastating" and pointing out how many grown adults appear to be in line for what are presumably entry-level positions.

Some touched on Canada's explosive population growth through immigration that has put a strain on housing, basic services and, yes, available jobs.

The revelation of how many employers are using Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) to hire from abroad rather than locally — including companies like Tim Hortons — has also made prospects far worse. The feds have also drawn attention to the issue of what they call "abusing and misusing" of LMIAs and the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program.

Amid the negativity were a few more defeatist responses, like one person that said "I kinda get it. This McDonald's is maybe a five minute drive from Durham College and Ontario Tech. Lots of international students looking to capitalize on a close to campus work spot. I don't blame em."

Another said, "I respect their willingness to work" regarding all those in line.

Best of luck to all those hopefuls who are on the hunt for a role out there, as the task seems to have become more arduous than ever.

Lead photo by

@realtorontonewz/Instagram


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