Canada’s economy had increased to levels that were seen before the coronavirus pandemic in March. Statistics Canada had taken an in depth look into the current state of the labor market for the week of March 14th to March 20th, at the same time a third wave of Covid-19 was expected to hit. Regulations that were put into place by the public health department were far less strict in many of the provinces in Canada. Most of the lockdown restrictions for residents in all parts of Ontario had been raised. However, certain services involved in the self-care industry such as beauty and fitness centres, dining in and entertainment facilities still continued to remain closed in various cities such as Toronto.
How was Employment Affected During the Pandemic?
The amount of employed residents living within the country in March were just 1,5 percent lower than that of the amount of people employed in February 2020. However, the unemployment rate was unfortunately significantly high, sitting at 32 percent.
An increase in employment is picking up amongst many different provinces in Canada, with the biggest differences noticed in places like Ontario, Alberta, B.C as well as Quebec. Thankfully, many employees were able to secure work for themselves again in several sectors that were heavily disadvantaged during the most intense parts of the pandemic. Some of these multi-billion industries includes retailers, the hospitality industry as well as the food industry. Furthermore, an increase in employment in the information, cultural and recreational sectors were also noticed, especially since September.
The country had also witnessed an increase in the employment rate of many immigrants residing there. Immigrants experienced a greater disadvantage in loss of employment during the pandemic. This is because many of them were employed in industries that were economically affected badly. Many industries that immigrants had previously worked in had been closed down for a considerable amount of time, leaving businesses unable to keep staff on board. Fortunately, most of these industries are now starting to see a revival and new hope.
