As the rate of COVID-19 infection continues to drop and the vaccination rate continues to climb, it appears that Canada’s economy is rebounding.
Results from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey for July tell an optimistic story about employment gains. Focusing on the period from July 11 to 17—a week during which restrictions countrywide were significantly reduced thanks to improvements in public health—the Survey reported a total employment increase of 94,000 jobs for the month.
Gains were concentrated in full-time work within Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island. In particular, service industries within the private sector of these provinces experienced a boost.
Accounting for the added jobs, July’s employment rate fell just 1.3 per cent under the rate surveyed in February 2020. In March 2020–the first month during which COVID-19 was considered a global pandemic by the World Health Organization–unemployment in Canada was recorded at 7.5 per cent. The unemployment rate fell back to this level in July.
The Labour Force Survey also determined that the employment rate is climbing for “very recent immigrants.” According to Statistics Canada, these are immigrants who have arrived in the country within the past five years.
