COVID-19 and job displacement: Thinking about the longer term

It is too early to know how many Canadian workers will lose their job, i.e. will be permanently laid-off, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and what will happen to them financially after job loss. Yet a number of stylized facts emerge from the past. While these facts do not necessarily allow accurate predictions of the impact of the pandemic on job displacement, they provide a long-term perspective from which forthcoming labour market developments can be assessed. The goal of this article is to highlight these facts.