Infographic 2
Highlights part 2

Infographic description

The title of the infographic is "Highlights part 2"

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

Employment growth in the services sector outpaces the goods-producing sector

By mid-April, notable employment losses were seen across both goods- and services-producing industries. In August, employment continued to increase at a faster pace in the services sector (+1.5%) than in the goods-producing sector (+0.7%). Employment reached 94.4% of its pre-COVID February level in the services, compared with 93.8% for goods.

Employment increases in most provinces

All provinces experienced unprecedented employment losses from February to April as a result of the unprecedented COVID-19 economic shutdown. Employment increased in all provinces in August, with the exception of New Brunswick and Alberta. The largest gains were in Ontario and Quebec.

Employment remains far below pre-COVID levels for both low-wage workers and youth

From February to April, employment among low-wage employees fell 38.1%, compared with a decline of 12.7% for all other paid employees (not seasonally adjusted). In August, employment increased at a faster pace (+2.3%) among those who earned less than $16.03 per hour (two-thirds of the 2019 annual median wage) than among other employees (+1.7%) (not seasonally adjusted). Nevertheless, employment was farther from pre-pandemic levels for low-wage employees (87.4%) than for other employees (99.1%) (not seasonally adjusted).

From February to April, employment among youth decreased by over one-third (-34.2%). Employment among youth aged 15 to 24 increased for the fourth consecutive month in August (+55,000) with gains split between part-time (+28,000) and full-time (+27,000) work.

Returning students—those who were enrolled full-time in March and intend to return in September—have faced a particularly challenging labour market during the summer of 2020. Employment among returning students aged 15 to 24 was down by 152,000 (-11.4%) compared with August 2019, with declines in both part-time and full-time work (not seasonally adjusted).

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