August 2022
Insights
COVID-19 restrictions index update
COVID-19 restrictions were less stringent during the Omicron wave than during previous waves of the pandemic and there was less of an impact on the economy. Based on the COVID-19 Restrictions Index, which was developed by researchers at Statistics Canada, this article provides insight into the evolution of COVID-19 restrictions over the spring and summer of 2022.
Previous work found that the economic impact of the COVID-19 restrictions were stronger once the restrictions went above a certain threshold level. The restrictions related to the Omicron wave had less of an impact on the economy because the restrictions did not rise greatly above this threshold. Also, since the earlier waves, business and governments have invested in physically distanced workplaces and remote technologies and a larger portion of the population has been vaccinated.
Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: How rates in Canada and the United States compare
The rates at which employees worked from home in Canada (37%) and the U.S. (35%) were roughly the same in May 2020, but the rate declined faster in the U.S. than it did in Canada throughout the pandemic. By December 2021, the number of employees working from home as a share of total employees had fallen to 22% in Canada and 11% in the U.S.
This article also found that in both countries, the rates of working from home tended to be higher for women compared with men; for workers aged 25 to 54 compared with other age groups; for those employed full-time compared with part-time workers; and for those with higher levels of education. These rates tended to be higher in Canada than in the U.S.
Research articles
Exploring the business dynamics of self-employed child care service providers
Between 2008 and 2016, two in five (39.5%) Canadian self-employed child care providers (SECCSPs) were immigrants. Unlike previous work which has focused on large daycare centres, this study used a novel dataset to examine the characteristics of small home-based child cares, which make up the majority of child care providers in Canada.
It found that only one in five (20.2%) SECCSPs had a child under 4 in the household (20.2%) and around one-half (49.0%) had a child under 13, suggesting that the desire to take care of one’s own children is not a motivator for many SECCSPs. Around 30.4% of all SECCSPs were from low-income households, and the proportion was higher for immigrant providers than for non-immigrant providers (53.5% vs. 15.3%).
Related publications
Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series
- Date modified: