Employment losses have been driven by part-time work, particularly among the youth.
More stringent COVID-19 and relayed restrictions across Canada was the reason why employment dropped in January. This is per the new Labour Force Survey.
Statistics Canada examined the Canadian labor force from January 10 to 16. COVID-19 numbers started coming down. Ontario closed down non-essential retail businesses.
Quebec also shut non-essential retail and implemented a curfew on January 14. This affected the operating hours in several businesses. Alberta and Manitoba stopped recreation activities, in-person dining, and all sorts of personal care services. It also imposed restrictions on retail businesses.
Some restrictions had been eased in the Atlantic Provinces. Prince Edward Island restarted in-person dining, cultural and recreational facilities. Restrictions on in-person dining had been eased in Nova Scotia days before the Labour Force Survey.
Employment losses were in part-time work and were observed mostly in the retail trade sectors of Ontario and Quebec. Employment dropped by almost 213,000 jobs in January after a drop of about 53,000 during December.
There was an increasing number of Canadians working from home in January than in April, after the country’s first lockdown.
The unemployment rate was at 9.4%, the highest from August. During that time unemployment was at 10.2%.
Job losses were concentrated in Quebec and Ontario. Employment fell in Labrador and Newfoundland but rose in Nova Scotia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Prince Edward Island. Employment was steady in Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and British Columbia.
Industries that were affected by public health measures were the most affected. The accommodation and food services sector took the biggest hit. Retail alongside culture, information, and recreation witnessed losses.
Employment had risen in the construction industry driven by gains in both Alberta and Quebec.
The number of individuals working in healthcare and social assistance was increased to match pre-COVID levels. This comes following two months of little change in employment levels. The disruption in immigration numbers resulted in a higher number of job vacancies in healthcare. Immigrants make up a significant portion of the country’s health sector. In the month of January, immigrants made up 41.3% of nurses and orderlies and 42.8% of physicians in Canada.
In January, employment losses were more than twice as large among youth between 15 to 19-year-olds than those aged in the age group of 20 to 24. Core-aged females in the age range of 25 and 54 years faced more job loss than core-aged males.
The employment rate for recent immigrants was steady. This is because a lesser number of new immigrants landed in Canada during COVID-19. The employment rate for immigrants who had landed in Canada five years ago or even before dropped to 57.5%. For people born in Canada, the drop in employment was steeper but remained higher. The rate was 58.7% to be precise.
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