Infographic 3
Highlights part 3

Infographic description

The title of the infographic is "Highlights part 3"

This is a text box that presents the highlights of the release.

COVID-19 continues to have unequal labour market impacts

From February to April, employment among lower-wage workers fell by 38.1%, compared to a drop of 12.7% for all other paid employees. In May, lower-wage work rebounded more quickly than overall employment, increasing by 134,000 (+6.7%). This represented a recovery of a little more than one-tenth of losses in lower-wage work experienced from February to April.

Women were harder hit at the beginning of the COVID-19 economic shutdown. By April, employment losses were similar for women (-1,537,000; -16.9%) and men (-1,468,000; -14.6%). Total employment increased more than twice as fast among men (+2.4% or +206,000) than women (+1.1% or +84,000) in May.

Each summer, students enter the labour market temporarily before returning to school in the fall. In May 2019, the unemployment rate among returning students was 13.8%. In May 2020, the unemployment rate for returning students surged to 40.3%. On a year-over-year basis, employment among returning students was down 438,000 (-39.7%).

Source(s): Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey.