Retail jobs fell -3.8% in April
May 11, 2021
Statistics Canada released its most recent jobs numbers last Friday which showed that 207,100 jobs were lost in April along with an unemployment rate of 8.1%.
Specifically for retail, jobs fell -3.8% in April (84,000) as stricter restrictions on the operation of non-essential stores were implemented in Ontario, Alberta and several regions of Quebec.
Other points of interest:
In April, employment in the industry remained higher than during the January lockdowns but was 4.9% below the level recorded before the pandemic in February 2020.
• Retail job losses were worse than the overall April 2021 employment decline, which was -1.1%.
• Of workers across all jobs sectors who worked at least half their usual hours in April, 30.6% worked from home, up from 29.1% in March.
• Ontario has been a leading driver of changing labour market conditions in recent months. While the province represents approximately 40% of total employment, it has accounted for at least 60% of the net national employment change in three of the past four months.
