Canada lost 200,000 jobs in January, while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 6.5% (+0.5 points), direct consequences of the Omicron wave, Statistics Canada announced on Friday.
For the first time since the third wave of COVID-19 in April 2021, the unemployment rate has increased in the country, which thus had a total of 1.34 million unemployed in January for around 38 million inhabitants.
In Quebec, the unemployment rate rose 0.7 percentage points to 5.4% last month, and employment fell 1.4%.
In January, most Canadian provinces reintroduced lockdowns and many businesses and services had to close. Workers in the accommodation and restaurant sectors have been the hardest hit, notes the Canadian Statistical Institute in its press release.
“It’s worse than the consensus had predicted,” reacted analyst Royce Mendes, economist at Desjardins, who believes, however, that this should quickly improve with the gradual lifting of health measures in the country.
Young people and women most affected
Employment declines in the first month of the year were mainly attributable to Ontario and Quebec, Canada’s two most populous provinces.
Young people aged 15 to 24 were the most affected since they “are more likely to work in sectors directly affected by public health measures”, specifies Statistics Canada.
Employment fell for women, while “full-time and part-time work remained stable” for men.
January was also marked by sickness absences “which reached record levels” due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
For the week of January 9 to 15, “one in ten employees (10%) was absent from their job for all or part of the week,” says Statistics Canada.
With The Canadian Press