Articles : Third Wave of Pandemic Leads to Employment Losses

Canada’s labour market lost 207,000 jobs, as public health restrictions tightened last month.

Industries most impacted were in retail trade, accommodation and food services, and information, culture, and recreation. Each sector saw a loss of:

• -84,000 jobs in retail trade
• -59,000 employment in accommodation and food services
• -26,000 in information, culture, and recreation

Accommodation and food services accounted for more than two-thirds (70.9%) of the overall employment gap (-503,000) compared with February 2020.

Employment among youth aged 15 to 24 fell by 101,000.

After some growth in February and March, employment among people aged 25 to 54 fell 48,000, mostly in full-time work for women.

After returning to pre-pandemic levels in March, employment among people aged 55 and older fell 58,000, with losses primarily in full-time work.

Employment increased in public administration by 15,000, professional, scientific and technical services by 15,000, and finance, insurance and real estate by 15,000 – which are three industries where work can be done remotely.

The number of Canadians working from home grew by 100,000 to 5.1 million.

The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percent to 8.1% last month, which was a result of increases in the number of searching for work at 67,000 and those on temporary layoff at 57,000. The unemployment rate has trended downward from its peak of 13.7% in May 2020, with the exception of small increases in December, January, and April.

References:
Statistics Canada