About Jobs in Kingston and Belleville Region
The Kingston-Belleville area is located directly off Highway 401 in Eastern Ontario, about half way between Toronto and Montreal, and within a couple of hours drive from Ottawa. The area has a population of over 200,000 and is home to a diverse group of employers - partly due to its convenient location. The top three dominant industries creating jobs in Kingston are retail trade, post-secondary education, and food and beverage services. Queens University is responsible - directly and indirectly - for attracting a number of employers and creating a variety of jobs in Kingston. Another major public sector employer in Kingston is the Canadian Forces Base in the city. Major private sector employers in Kingston include INVISTA Canada, StarTek Canada, Calian Technologies Ltd., and Empire Life Insurance Company.
Belleville is located less than an hour drive West of Kingston and has a population of about 49,000. However, labour is generally drawn from a 40-50 km radius around the City of Belleville, representing a population base of more than 200,000 people. Belleville has a fairly diverse employers base, with many jobs in Belleville being in the business services, retail trade, and manufacturing industries. Like Kingston's, Belleville's job market is quite strong, well diversified, and the local labour force tends to have a better than average education rates compared to other parts of Canada. This, and the presence of strong prominent employers in Kingston-Belleville was likely the reason why jobs in Kingston-Belleville have been affected less by the economic crisis since 2009 and jobs elsewhere in Canada.