Employers in Ontario are advertising far fewer open roles than they were just a few years ago, new data shows, as residents face what some are deeming the most difficult job market they've experienced in their lives.

According to a report released on Tuesday by Indeed's research arm, Hiring Lab, the number of job vacancies in Toronto has plummeted a staggering 22 per cent from 2020 levels, with some places elsewhere in the province showing even worse numbers.

Multiple Ontario cities made the list of the ten places where the job market has worsened the most in Canada since 2020. But, North Bay, Ontario also saw the biggest increase in job postings over the same time.

St. Catharines and Kitchener-Waterloo took the cake for the most substantial declines in all of Canada over the last four years, of 26 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively. Ottawa, Guelph and Hamilton were also named among the ten Canadian job markets that had deteriorated the most in that time frame.

And, Ontario's job vacancy rate is the third-worst of any province, at less than three per cent, Interestingly, though, the city of North Bay did see the largest uptick in open positions: 79 per cent, making it the only place in Ontario that made the top ten list for largest increases in job availabilities.

The number of job postings has fallen drastically in Ontario in the last few years, according to Indeed.

The findings are based on StatCan data, as well as the number of positions that businesses have been looking to fill through Indeed.

Hiring Lab also identified a concerning trend for candidates not just in the aforementioned Ontario locales, but in the country's largest cities in general.

"While job opportunities have been down nationwide since mid-2022, growth compared to pre-pandemic levels has been mixed across regions, showing two main patterns," the report states.

"First, job vacancy rates in the Prairies are up, overtaking Ontario, Quebec, and most of Atlantic Canada, where they are down. Second, job postings on Indeed remain elevated in smaller cities and non-urban areas, while medium and larger metro areas are mixed, with substantial declines in several Ontario cities, Vancouver, and Montreal."

This helps to explain why Ontario's unemployment rate is now at a  shocking 7.1 per cent as of last month, serving as home to the city with the worst employment crisis in Canada: Windsor, where 9.8 per cent of the population is now without a paying gig.

Aspiring staffers across the province can attest to this, often waiting in gigantic lineups for hiring fairs that have companies ranging from retail stores to McDonald's fielding hundreds of applicants.