Job prospects Office Assistant in Québec

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "office assistant" in Québec or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Québec

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be limited for General office support workers (NOC 14100) in Quebec for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment decline will lead to the loss of some positions.
• Several positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

This occupation is found in most industries, but a significant number of jobs are concentrated in services, including finance, insurance, real estate and leasing, retail trade and the government. However, growth may be slower at the beginning of the forecast period for the last sector due to the hiring freeze on administrative employees in public services.         

The evolution of employment is mainly influenced by technological advances and work reorganization. The implementation of office software and the integration of artificial intelligence are now helping managers and professionals do the work themselves or automate a large number of administrative tasks that they had previously assigned to people in this profession. These new opportunities have also increased employer requirements and reduced the demand for these employees in favour of more versatile occupations that require a higher level of education. 

Since it is an entry-level position, many opportunities will come from employee turnover and retirements. However, while this supports slight job growth, these factors will be insufficient to offset the effect of other factors influencing this occupation. 

Here are some key facts about General office support workers in Quebec:

• Approximately 18,750 people work in this occupation.
• General office support workers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (NAICS 52, 53): 10%
  • Other retail stores (NAICS 44-45, except 445): 8%
  • Provincial and territorial public administration (NAICS 912): 8%
  • Federal government public administration (NAICS 911): 7%
  • Hospitals (NAICS 622): 6%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 77% compared to 82% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 23% compared to 18% for all occupations
• 63% of general office support workers work all year, while 37% work only part of the year, compared to 62% and 38% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 42 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• Less than 5% of general office support workers are self-employed compared to an average of 12% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 22% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 78% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 8% compared to 12% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 28% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 17% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 28% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 14% compared to 17% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 11% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Québec by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as an "office assistant" General office support workers (NOC 14100) or across Canada.

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