Applications open for Ontario’s new Skills Development Fund
Applications are now open for the Ontario government’s new two-year $115 million Skills Development Fund. The fund, which aims to support workers and apprentices, has been designed to address the challenges brought on by COVID-19 and help reduce obstacles to hiring, training and retaining while preparing workers for the province’s economic recovery.
The Skills Development Fund will accept applications from a wide range of employment and training organizations in Ontario, and the focus will be on:
- giving laid-off workers immediate access to training supports or new jobs
- improving the quality of training
- reaching out to traditionally underrepresented groups
- increasing apprentice registrations and completion
- better serving local communities
- supporting the talent needs of small businesses
Applicants, including employers, apprenticeship training delivery agents, unions, post-secondary institutions, community organizations and others can now submit proposals beginning today, until February 28, 2021.
Niagara’s unemployment in January 2021 similar to that during Spring 2020 lockdown
January 2021 saw 12,100 fewer people in employment compared to December 2020, reports Niagara Workforce Planning Board. 5,300 of these employment losses were among people in full-time employment and 6,800 were among people in part-time employment. With Niagara’s unemployment rate at 11.6% and our employment rate at 50.1%, January 2021’s data are similar to the trends observed during the spring 2020 lockdown. The 24,400 job seekers reported in January 2021 is exactly double the number of job seekers living in Niagara in January 2020.
| December 2020 | January 2021 | Monthly change | Monthly change (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-time employment | 146,200 | 140,900 | -5,300 | -3.6% |
| Part-time employment | 52,400 | 45,600 | -6,800 | -13.0% |
| Total employment | 198,600 | 186,500 | -12,100 | -6.1% |
| Dec 2019 | Jan 2020 | Dec 2020 | Jan 2021 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 222,300 | 220,500 | 217,700 | 210,900 |
| Employment | 211,600 | 208,300 | 198,600 | 186,500 |
| Full-time employment | 162,700 | 160,100 | 146,200 | 140,900 |
| Part-time employment | 49,000 | 48,200 | 52,400 | 45,600 |
| Unemployment | 10,700 | 12,200 | 19,100 | 24,400 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.8% | 5.5% | 8.8% | 11.6% |
| Participation rate | 60.2% | 59.6% | 58.5% | 56.6% |
| Employment rate | 57.3% | 56.3% | 53.3% | 50.1% |
For more information on the local labour market picture, Niagara Workforce Planning Board’s Eye on Employment will be available on Monday, including data on industries and youth/gender breakdowns.
National employment falls to lowest level since August 2020
Employment fell by 213,000 (-1.2%) in January. Losses were entirely in part-time work and were concentrated in the Quebec and Ontario retail trade sectors. The decline in January followed a 53,000 drop (-0.3%) in December and brought employment to its lowest level since August 2020.
Compared with February 2020, employment was down 858,000 in January and COVID-related absences from work were up 529,000. Among Canadians who worked at least half their usual hours, the number working from home increased by nearly 700,000 to 5.4 million in January, surpassing the previous high of 5.1 million in April.
The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 9.4%, the highest rate since August 2020.
The number of long-term unemployed (people who have been looking for work or who have been on temporary layoff for 27 weeks or more) remained at a record high (512,000).
The labour force participation rate—defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 and older who are employed or unemployed—fell 0.3 percentage points in January to 64.7%, the lowest rate since August 2020.
In January, the labour underutilization rate rose 1.2 percentage points to 18.4%.
Employment declined in January in three services-producing industries most affected by new and continuing public health restrictions—accommodation and food services (-8.2%), retail trade (-7.4%), and information, culture and recreation (-2.4%).
Reading recommendations
Support from feds pushes Canadian insolvencies to 20-year low: OSB
The Canadian Press/BNN Bloomberg
Canadian insolvency filings hit a 20-year low last year as government financial support offset the shock and economic uncertainty caused by COVID-19.
The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy says there were 99,244 consumer bankruptcies and proposals along with business bankruptcies in 2020, down 30 per cent from the prior year.
Total insolvencies plunged almost 40 per cent from the peak in 2009, with consumer insolvencies down 30 per cent from 2019 to an 18-year-low.
IMF foresees lingering shock even as economy recovers from pandemic
Don Pittis, CBC News
With Friday’s jobs data expected to indicate a pandemic employment shortage extending into a second year, new research shows that a protracted dearth of work will create lifelong pain for many of its victims. Not only that, the report suggests it will have a wider social impact.
The adverse effect of recessions on the careers of new graduates and on their lifetime earnings has been well documented, including by Statistics Canada.
But a recent report published by the International Monetary Fund, titled The Long Shadow of an Unlucky Start, insists that failure to launch can lead to even worse outcomes, including increased criminal behaviour, an unhappy family life, depression and early death.
Niagara COVID status tracker
Niagara’s most up-to-date COVID statistics, measured against the targets for the various stages of the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, are presented below. This does not predict government policy, but is offered to give you an idea of where Niagara is situated and how likely a relaxation (or further restrictions) may be. These data are drawn daily from Niagara Region. The Grey-Lockdown level does not have its own metrics, but is triggered when the COVID-specific measurements in a Red-Control region have continued to deteriorate.
Note that the Provincewide Shutdown is not the same as the Grey-Lockdown level listed in the Ontario COVID-19 Response Framework, which has been suspended for the duration of the shutdown. Additional restrictions for businesses apply during the Shutdown. Businesses should not use the Response Framework as a guide during this time, but should instead refer to the Shutdown guidelines.
| December 18 | December 25 | January 1 | January 8 | January 15 | January 22 | January 29 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive number | 1.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 0.9 |
| New cases per 100,000 | 101.2 | 267.3 | 469.8 | 575.8 | 507.1 | 295.5 | 250.6 |
| New cases per day (not including outbreaks) | 60.7 | 178.7 | 311.7 | 376.9 | 325.4 | 182.7 | 145.7 |
| Percent of hospital beds occupied | 97% | 95.2% | 98.2% | 103.2% | 104.5% | 103.6% | 106% |
| Percent of intensive care beds occupied | 78.8% | 77.3% | 87.9% | 87.9% | 90.9% | 89.4% | 93.9% |
| Percentage of positive tests | 6.1% | 15.6% | 28.1% | 28.6% | 26.6% | 21.2% | 16.2% |
Definitions:
- Weekly Incidence Rate: the number of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people per week
- Percent Positivity: the number of positive COVID-19 tests as a percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed
- Rt: the reproductive rate, or the number of people infected by each case of the virus
