January 2021 Canadian Job Loss Reach All Time High

Canada Lost 213,000 Jobs in January

Thanks to COVID-19 and extended public health measures implemented within multiple provinces, Canada lost 213,000 (-1.2%) jobs in January. This total follows the loss of 53,000 (-0.3%) jobs lost across the country in December.

Compared to February 2020, there were 858,000 more Canadians out of work in January 2021.

Meanwhile, COVID-related absences from work climbed to 529,000.

All told, the unemployment rate in Canada has risen 0.6 percentage points to 9.4%, the highest rate since August 2020. 

According to the CBC, this amount of job loss in January was roughly five times greater than what economics polled by Bloomberg estimated. They thought total job losses for that month would be just a little higher than 40,000. 

“Losses were entirely in part-time work and were concentrated in Quebec and Ontario,” explained Statistics Canada in its latest ‘Labour Force Survey.’ The government agency went on to say these two provinces lost a combined 251,000 jobs in January. 

Elsewhere, employment fell in Newfoundland and Labrador as well, but rose in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Employment figures remained steady in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Of course, these numbers are bound to reflect the damaging toll COVID-19 has had on multiple industries. In January, the accommodation and food services industry lost 8.2% of its jobs, followed by the retail trade (-7.4%) and the information, culture and recreation sector (-2.4%). 

On the flip side, industries that tend to employ people on a more full-time basis – like professional, scientific, and technical services, finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing – are said “to have recovered to pre-COVID employment levels in recent months and were unchanged in January.”

In January, the working world for young Canadians was impacted greatly. Those aged 15 to 19 lost a total of 74,000 (-9.3%) jobs that month, while individuals aged 20 to 24 lost a total of 34,000 (-2.2%) jobs. 

That said, the 25 to 54 age bracket also had a tough start to the beginning of 2021, with 107,000 (-0.9%) jobs lost. 

Additionally, the pandemic has played a gigantic role in terms of how many people and businesses have had to embrace a work-from-home reality.

“Among Canadians who worked at least half their usual hours, the number working from home increased by nearly 700,000 to 5.4 million January,” said Statistics Canada. “[This surpassed] the previous high of 5.1 million in April.”

Factors for this number of Canadians working from home include:

• Changes in the work location of particular jobs
• Work locations for new hires
• Employers adjusting their operations in order to make working from home a viable option for staff

It could be argued another factor behind the work-from-home stats is how people currently feel about leaving the house for a job. For instance, Statistics Canada found more than two-fifths of Canadian people (43.3%) who were employed, or wanted to work in January, were concerned about contracting COVID-19 in the workplace.

A number of Canadians appear to be waiting for the pandemic to blow over before heading back into the workface. During January alone, explained Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians who wanted a job – but were not actively looking for one – increased by 74,000 (+14.3%).

-by Adam Grant

Labour Force Survey, January 2021

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/210205/dq210205a-eng.pdf?st=2x36XSjM

Canada lost 213,000 jobs in January as lockdowns took a giant bite out of the job market

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/canada-jobs-january-1.5902308

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Who Is Matt McKeever?

Matt McKeever is a CPA, CA and Real Estate Entrepreneur in London, Ontario. On his YouTube Channel with over 70,000 subscribers and 4,000,000 views Matt discusses a variety of real estate and personal finance strategies and tactics. Including: How to BRRRR Real Estate, The Importance of Investing for Cash Flow, How to Reach Financial Independence Retire Early, Safe Withdrawal Rates, Frugality and Reducing Personal Consumption & Embracing Minimalism. 

Matt began investing in real estate at age 25 by purchasing a student rental near Fanshawe College