Employment falls as fresh lockdowns take their toll, young people and women most affected
Canada’s labour market suffered a larger-than-expected setback last month after the country was hit with fresh lockdowns meant to contain the Omicron variant of Covid-19.
The country shed 200,100 jobs in January, Statistics Canada reported Friday from Ottawa, ending a seven-month streak of gains. Economists in a Bloomberg survey were expecting a drop of 110,000. The unemployment rate rose to 6.5%, from 6% at the end of last year.
The decrease, which was entirely among private sector employees, marks the largest drop since January 2021, when the economy shed 207,800 jobs.
Read more: Employers think again and increase salary budgets for 2022
As Omicron spread across the country, governments reintroduced capacity limits and closures for workplaces such as restaurants and gyms.
Statistics Canada said the bulk of the job losses were in Ontario and Quebec, which implemented among the strictest measures in the country. Employment dropped by 146,000 (down 1.9 per cent) in Ontario in January, says Ottawa.
Among all other provinces, Prince Edward Island posted the largest proportional decrease (down 3.5 per cent or 2,900), followed by Newfoundland and Labrador (down 1.7 per cent or 3,900), Quebec (down 1.4 per cent or 63,000) and New Brunswick (down 0.9 per cent or 3,100).
Food services and accommodations were among the hardest hit, with young people and women most affected.
10 per cent of employees were absent from their job due to illness or disability, roughly one-third higher than the average observed in the month of January from 2017 to 2019. Prior to January 2022, the highest level of absences due to illness or disability was 8.1 per cent in March 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (not seasonally adjusted).
Here's a quick look at Canada's January employment (numbers from the previous month in brackets):
Unemployment rate: 6.5 per cent (6.0)
Employment rate: 60.8 per cent (61.5)
Participation rate: 65.0 per cent (65.4)
Number unemployed: 1,341,800 (1,236,100)
Number working: 19,176,100 (19,376,200)
Youth (15-24 years) unemployment rate: 13.6 per cent (11.1)
Men (25 plus) unemployment rate: 5.2 per cent (5.1)
Women (25 plus) unemployment rate: 5.6 per cent (5.2)
*Stats from Canadian Press
