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Summary
- As COVID-related precautionary restrictions eased across several regions in March 2021, Canada continued to notice a rise in employment on a monthly basis.
- On a national level, the country added 303,000, or 1.6 per cent, jobs in March and came within 1.5 per cent of its pre-pandemic level in February 2020, reported Statistics Canada.
- According to the latest Labour Force Survey (LFS), Canada’s unemployment rate in March sank by 0.7 percentage points to 7.5 per cent month-over-month (MoM), its lowest level since pre-COVID world’s February 2020.
As COVID-related precautionary restrictions eased across several regions in March 2021, Canada continued to notice a rise in employment on a monthly basis.
On a national level, the country added 303,000, or 1.6 per cent, jobs in March and came within 1.5 per cent of its pre-pandemic level in February 2020, reported Statistics Canada.
The Canadian data agency’s latest Labour Force Survey (LFS) gives an idea of the job market conditions of the third week of March. According to it, Canada’s unemployment rate in March sank by 0.7 percentage points to 7.5 per cent month-over-month (MoM), its lowest level since pre-COVID world’s February 2020.
How was the Employment Scenario in Canada For March 2021?
While full-time and part-time jobs were up by 175,000 (1.2 per cent) and 128,000 (3.9 per cent) MoM in March, self-employment also surged for the first time in three months by 56,000 (2.1 per cent).
©Kalkine Group 2021
With strict public health measures rolling back a little, Canada saw several industries, such as educational facilities, retail business and construction, note gains in March. This, in turn, led to the total number of hours worked by people rise by about two per cent for the month.
Speaking of industries, retail businesses added 95,000 (4.5 per cent) jobs in March, fully recovering the jobs lost in January this year. Industries related to information, culture and recreation added some 62,000 (9.4 per cent) for the first time since September last year.
Even business focused in accommodation and food services, which registered sharp losses amid COVID, saw employment rise by 21,000 (2.4 per cent) in March. Meanwhile the goods-producing sector recorded 43,000 (1.1 per cent) more people come to work for the month.
Province-wise, StatCan reported that employment increased in seven Canadian provinces for the month of March, including Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, etc.
But even as employment among Canadian between the ages of 15 and 24 surged by five per cent in March, young women continued struggle with job-related challenges, reported StatCan.
What About Canada’s Unemployment Rate In March 2021?
About 1.5 million Canadians were still unemployed in the month of March, which was up 371,000, or 32.4 per cent, as compared to February last year.
Meanwhile, labour underutilization rate dropped by about 1.9 percentage points to 14.7 per cent for the month, hitting the lowest point since February 2020.
