A sign indicates directions to a COVID-19 test centre in Montreal on April 5, 2020.
Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
More than one million people in Canada lost their jobs in March and the unemployment rate climbed to 7.8 per cent, reflecting the first wave of layoffs resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The March job losses easily surpassed a record one-month decline set in January of 2009 – when employment dropped by roughly 125,000 – according to Labour Force Survey data from Statistics Canada that dates back to 1976. March also saw the largest one-month increase of the country’s jobless rate, which had been 5.6 per cent in February.
Record-setting job losses were widely anticipated in Thursday’s report. Statscan surveyed households on labour conditions between March 15 and 21, which overlapped with many companies shutting their doors and laying off staff as COVID-19 started to upend the economy.
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Among those employed between March 15 and 21, roughly 2.1 million people either didn’t work any hours or worked less than half their usual hours.
“These increases in absences from work can be attributed to COVID-19 and bring the total number of Canadians who were affected by either job loss or reduced hours to 3.1 million,” Statscan said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday warned the jobs report would be ugly. “It’s going to be a hard day for the country,” he said.
Since Statscan’s survey week, layoffs have intensified as governments have implemented tighter restrictions on business operations and social interactions to curb the virus’s growth. Since March 16, more than 5 million Canadians have applied for emergency financial assistance with the federal government, a sign of unprecedented labour disruption.
As such, the April labour report (released early next month) is widely expected to show even worse job-loss figures.
Thursday’s report showed the employment rate declined to 58.5 per cent from February’s 61.8 per cent, while the labour participation rate – the percentage of people either working or looking for a job – declined to 63.5 per cent in March from 65.5 per cent.
Ontario experienced the largest job losses in raw numbers, with the number of employed people declining by about 403,000, followed by Quebec at 264,000 and British Columbia at 132,000.
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As expected, the accommodation and food services sector was hit hard, with nearly 300,000 people losing their jobs, a decline of 24 per cent. The information, culture and recreation sector lost 13.3 per cent of its employment, while educational services dropped 9.1 per cent.
Employment among youth aged 15 to 24 decreased by nearly 400,000 or 15.4 per cent.
Among the roughly one million people who lost employment, there was a near even split of those who joined the ranks of the unemployed and those who dropped out of the labour force.
The distinction between people who are unemployed or not in the labour force is particularly important within the context of COVID-19.
According to the LFS, the unemployed includes those who are available for work and have looked for employment in the past four weeks, along with those on temporary layoff who expect to rejoin their employer. It also includes those who are set to start a job within four weeks.
Given those stipulations, many workers affected by COVID-19 are not officially considered unemployed. For instance, a jobless parent who’s suddenly handling home-school and daycare duties, and thus isn’t available to work, is not considered unemployed. Nor is the jobless person who’s stopped looking for work because their industry has stopped hiring.
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Instead, they are considered to be not in the labour force.
The federal government recently unveiled a program that will subsidize wages for eligible companies by up to 75 per cent, to a maximum of $847 per week per employee. Some companies, such as Air Canada and WestJet Airlines, will use the program to bring back workers. However, the extent to which the wage-subsidy program dampens layoffs or encourages rehiring remains to be seen.
With unemployment skyrocketing during the coronavirus pandemic, personal finance columnist Rob Carrick offers some tips on how to deal with creditors and make a bare-bones budget.The Globe and Mail
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OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
