Photo by Alex Shutin on Unsplash

The January job losses in Canada came as no surprise, given the spread of the Omicron variant which led many jurisdictions to adopt stricter public health measures throughout the month. Total job losses amounted to 200,000 and the unemployment rate increased by .05% to 6.5%. As with every monthly labour market report, the devil lies in the details. The Canadian experience reveals the workforce has suffered considerable damage, much of which will likely have lasting effects on the longer-term prospects for a return to a sustained growth path. The January labour force survey reported that:

• A dramatic drop in total hours worked. The number of people who were employed but worked less than half their usual hours rose by 620,000 in January, the largest increase since March 2020, when the pandemic closures were instituted.
• All the job losses were among private-sector workers. Approximately 206,000 jobs were lost in the private sector; the total number of workers in that sector remains at the same level that existed in February 2020; 
• Wage growth remains muted. Average hourly wages grew at 2.4% on a year-over-year basis in January, actually slightly down from 2.7% in November and December 2021; wage growth remains in the line with the average annual rate of 2.5% experienced over the past five years; with the CPI well-exceeding wage increases, real wages continue to decline.
• Work From Home (WFH) continues to be preferred with as many as 4 in 10 who worked most of the time from home; 25% of all workers reported that they are currently working exclusively from home, compared to the pre-pandemic estimate of 7.5%; WFH now represents as a significant factor in our economy;
• Absenteeism. Approximately 1 in 10 workers were absent from the job due to illness or other disability. 

 Canadian Job Losses, January 2022

Source: Statistics Canada

A final note on the so-called issue of the “Great Resignation” describes those workers who either quit their current jobs or quit the workforce altogether. Statistics Canada’s survey revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 workers in the core-age group, 15-69 years, plan to leave their current job in the next 12 months. This estimate is not too dissimilar to a similar survey conducted in 2016. Only 1 in 5 who indicated that they will leave, will do so because of the nature of their job, including low-pay, excessive hours or an inability to WFH. Just a quarter of workers cited they wish to make a career switch. In sum, the pandemic continues to disrupt the labour market in so many different ways that labour economists are just beginning to document and understand these fundamental changes.