The Flip Side of the Coin
While most Canadians will grin to the economic recovery and increasing employment rates, the report also unwrapped some disparities existing in the country’s job market. The government needs to find sure-fire measures to address these concerns and bring equality in employment effectively. Here are the shortcomings.
The participation rate in the labour force participation was restored to the PRE-Covid-19 levels of 0.2%, while in women, it was 1.3% below pre-Covid-19 era. That signals that most women engage in non-employment economic pursuits, such as child care.
Unemployment rates among marginalized groups also remained low as compares to individuals who don’t belong to a particular visible minority. As the country enjoys a relatively lower 11.1% unemployment rate, that’s not the case with Arabs (17.9%), Blacks (17.6%), and Southeast Asians (16.6%).
Low-income workers and youth employment stand at 86.0%, edging closer to February levels. Other sectors are nearing pre-coronavirus levels of 99.1%. The reason for that is the increase in demand for low-wage workers in some of the hardest-hit service industries.
Considering the figures indicated above, it is clear that there is still a considerable room for improvement. According to immigration authorities, Canada, although recovering steadily economically, still needs to regenerate over 1.1 million jobs that had been lost during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The newly-released report indicates that the country is steering on the path of economic recovery. As many employers and businesses return to work, their main focus is to recruit qualified employees to revamp their operations. Since the federal government eased lockdowns and business shutdowns, almost 2 million jobs have been recovered. Apart from the 240,000 jobs created in August, 419,000 jobs were reclaimed in July, while 1.2 million Canadians got employment opportunities in May and June. Considering this trend, it is rational to conclude that Canada will soon recover fully economically.
