The employer demand in Waterloo Region is almost the same, however. Of the 7,835 job postings in the region, computer programmers and interactive media developers topped the list at 322 postings; a number reflecting the region’s tech-driven shift.

After that, job postings fall in line with Cambridge, with 319 postings for transport truck drivers, 290 postings for retail salespersons, 204 postings for retail sales supervisors and 202 postings for other customer and information services representatives.

Simpson says one factor impacting the drop in employment for university students is the likelihood that some aim too high when coming out of school for jobs they have no experience doing.

“I can understand if you’re coming out with a $40,000 student loan you’re first thought is not to start at $15- or $17-an-hour. Quite frankly, that’s a starting point. A lot of employees tell us, you get your foot in the door, you prove yourself and you’ll move up fairly quickly because we don’t have enough people.”

However, Bryan May, MP for Cambridge and North Dumfries, believes one factor fueling the number of unemployed among university graduates may be more a result of them flooding the market. He points to the number of students enrolling in university, which went up 2.9 per cent in 2013-14. With a good amount of those students now graduating, that’s about 6,000 people coming into the job market, he says.

“While these students are likely to get jobs in the short term, it’s a significant number that helps to explain why there’s a higher unemployment level; more people are finishing school and entering the job market, bringing those skills to Ontario,” he says.

May also points to the rise of entry level positions as a result of businesses growing and expanding because of the strength of the economy.

“What we are seeing is very high demand for workers, and that’s leading to wage growth and many people re-entering the workforce,” May says.

“The full-time jobs that were lost in the 2008 recession have been added to the economy. The federal government is always working with the provinces to ensure education and training programs are giving people the skills they need to get their first job or return to work.”

Simpson agrees the workforce is foreign to some people now, as it’s changed drastically since the recession 10 years ago. For example, no longer are there are huge companies like Lear Canada or Budd Automotive holding a hiring blitz for 200 employees, she explains.

“A lot of the jobs are being created in smaller- and medium-sized businesses that are not household names. People have never heard of them, they don’t know where to look for them. The employers are in the same boat they’re struggling to find where they can advertise, too,” she says.

“There’s a lot of really good jobs out there for people that are interested in working, we just have to convince more people to actually consider working. We have a lot of people not currently in the labour force and we need to encourage some more of those people to come back and say there really are opportunities here at all levels.”

“There’s a little bit of a misunderstanding about what’s available in the labour market and what people are capable of doing," she adds. "I certainly don’t expect someone with a degree in pharmacy to be cleaning hotel rooms, but the fact is there’s a lot of people out there who are not currently looking for work who might be interested in those opportunities, they just don’t see that they exist.”

Job seekers can improve the situation, says Simpson, by expanding their search instead of looking in one specific industry, as companies are hiring in agriculture, finance, insurance, health care and manufacturing.

“You can take what your passion is and follow that and see what comes up.”

Simpson adds the current wave won’t likely continue.

“I don’t anticipate that this is going to be a situation that’s long-term. I think it’s just based on the fact that the types of employment that are currently being created in the highest levels, are those base level occupations,” she says.