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Ontario lost almost 153,000 jobs in April after imposing tough new lockdowns to control the spread of COVID-19.
The Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey (LFS) reported that the province was down 134,000 full-time jobs and 18,700 part-time positions from March.
Ontario’s unemployment rate grew to 9% last month from 7.5% in March.
Across Canada, there were 204,000 fewer employees in April with almost all job losses in the private sector, Stats Canada found.
The Doug Ford government brought in a new stay-at-home order in mid-April along with stronger public health measures and travel restrictions. Pandemic modelling at the time showed the potential for a large spike in COVID-19 cases and a resulting overwhelming burden on hospitals.
The three industries most impacted by lockdowns — retail; accommodation and food services; and information, culture and recreation — have seen their job numbers rise and fall with the easing and tightening of public health measures, Stats Canada says.
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These three industries employ just under one-third of all private sector employees in the country.
“In April, the unemployment rate increased among both Southeast Asian Canadians (+4.1 percentage points to 13.6%) and Filipino Canadians (+1.4 percentage points to 6.3%), two groups where the proportion of workers employed in accommodation and food services is above the national average,” the LFS says.
“The number of people working in accommodation and food services fell 59,000 (-6.4%) in April, largely as a result of losses in Ontario and British Columbia, where bans on indoor dining were reintroduced in late March and early April.”
The country saw 20,000 active businesses disappear in a year.
Long-term unemployment has increased since February 2020 in all major demographic groups, including core-aged men and women and those aged 55 and older, the LFS says.
Job numbers in industries like real estate, insurance and finance have grown from pre-pandemic levels.
aartuso@postmedia.com
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