Canadian Employment (July) - August 7, 2020

Canadian Employment (July) - August 7, 2020

Canadian employment grew by 419,000 jobs in July (2.4%, m/m). Combined with gains in May of 290,000 and gains in June of 953,000, this brought national employment to within 1.3 million of the pre-COVID February level. The national unemployment rate fell by 1.4 percentage points to 10.9 per cent from the previous month. Most of the employment gains in July were in part-time work. Compared to the same month last year, Canadian employment was down by 6.3% (-1.2 million). 

Regionally, all provinces reported an increase in employment except New Brunswick, where employment was little changed. The strongest gains were in Ontario which were almost all in part-time work, reflecting the later easing of COVID-related measures compared with other provinces. In July, employment continued to rise faster among women than men, but on a cumulative basis, men are closer to being back at pre-COVID levels than women. 

To address gaps in the understanding of the impact of the pandemic on certain visible communities, Statistics Canada has enhanced their employment survey. Of note, Statistics Canada found that compared to the same time last year, South Asians and Chinese Canadians experienced the highest increases in unemployment related to the pandemic, in part attributable to their greater concentration in some of the industries hardest hit by COVID-19 restrictions. Meanwhile, unemployment rates were lower for Black Canadians and Filipino Canadians, where many work in health care and social assistance industries. 

Employment in BC grew by 70,000 jobs (3%, m/m) in July, reaching almost 94% of the February employment level. This followed job gains of 118,100 in June and 43,000 in May. July's employment gain brought down the unemployment rate by 1.9 percentage points to 11 per cent. In Vancouver, employment increased by 48,000 jobs to reach almost 90% of the February level. Compared to one year ago, employment in BC was down by 7.5% (-192,000) jobs. 

This was another good news report. However, gains in July were lower than in June, reflecting reopening measures that began in June where employment growth was coming back from very low levels. We can expect that recovery will be slower from here on, as many of the hardest hit industries have reopened and will continue to maintain physical distancing measures. Also important are consumers' demand for goods and services, which is expected to be hampered by the still 165,000 unemployed individuals in BC since February, and the winding down of government support programs. 

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