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Niagara employment rises by 3,900 in May, national employment drops 0.4%
May 2021 saw 3,900 more people in employment compared to April 2021, Niagara Workforce Planning Board reports (PDF link). These gains were the result of 5,700 more people in full-time employment and 2,000 fewer people in part-time employment.
Niagara’s unemployment rate decreased from 12.5% to 11.3%. At the same time, the employment rate increased from 50.1% to 51.2%. The employment rate rising as unemployment falls is generally an ideal pairing of labour market indicators. This positive trend is now supported by three months of data that show employment gains despite the third COVID-19 lockdown.
May 2021 saw 1,800 more youth employed in Niagara. Similar to the general labour force, youth saw a declining unemployment rate and an increasing employment rate. However, overall youth employment has only improved 3% in May 2021 compared to May 2020.
Month over month, May 2021 saw 2,200 more women in employment and 1,500 more men in employment compared to April 2021.
| Labour force characteristics | April 2020 | May 2020 | 2020 | March 2021 | April 2021 | May 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour force | 204,100 | 198,400 | 211,200 | 208,900 | 213,600 | 215,200 |
| Employment | 182,000 | 172,300 | 190,600 | 181,600 | 186,900 | 190,800 |
| Full-time employment | 142,200 | 135,800 | 147,200 | 142,500 | 148,200 | 153,900 |
| Part-time employment | 39,800 | 36,500 | 43,400 | 39,100 | 38,800 | 36,800 |
| Unemployment | 22,100 | 26,100 | 20,600 | 27,200 | 26,600 | 24,400 |
| Unemployment rate | 10.8% | 13.2% | 9.8% | 13.0% | 12.5% | 11.3% |
| Participation rate | 55.1% | 53.5% | 56.9% | 56.1% | 57.3% | 57.7% |
| Employment rate | 49.1% | 46.5% | 51.3% | 48.7% | 50.1% | 51.2% |
Nationally, employment fell by 68,000 (-0.4%) in May. Almost all of the decline was in part-time work (-54,000; -1.6%). The number of self-employed workers was virtually unchanged in May, but remained 5.0% (-144,000) below its pre-pandemic level.
Among people working part time in May, almost one-quarter (22.7%) wanted a full-time job, up from 18.5% in February 2020 (not seasonally adjusted). The number of Canadians working from home held steady at 5.1 million.
The unemployment rate was little changed at 8.2% in May, as the number of people who searched for a job or who were on temporary layoff held steady. The unemployment rate among visible minority Canadians aged 15 to 69 rose 1.5 percentage points to 11.4% in May (not seasonally adjusted). Long-term unemployment—the number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more—held relatively steady at 478,000 in May.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce observed that the data “yielded no surprises as the labour market stagnation continues” and cautioned that “the coming rebound in jobs is not a recovery in jobs. The rate of unemployment as a result of COVID is roughly 70% greater than that of the Great Recession where it took more than 10 years for the labour market to fully recover. It’s more than likely a labour market recovery from the pandemic could take years if not decades. We are nowhere near out of the woods.”
Ontario expanding accelerated second dose booking
Due to an increasing supply of vaccines, the province is inviting individuals aged 70 and over as well as individuals who received their first dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer or Moderna) on or before April 18, 2021, to book an accelerated second dose appointment ahead of schedule.
Ontario expects to receive approximately 4.7 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in June and approximately 3.54 million doses in July. The province has also received 193,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
Reading Recommendations
Your questions answered about Canada’s residential school system
CBC News
The discovery of what is believed to be the remains of 215 children at the site of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., has stunned Canadians and renewed focus on what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a “dark and shameful chapter of our country’s history.”
It is also another reminder for Indigenous peoples living in Canada of a painful history they’ve known about all along.
The Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation said last week that preliminary findings from a ground-penetrating radar survey at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School detected the remains, a confirmation of what the community already understood from oral history.
Since the news broke, CBC readers have reached out with questions about Canada’s residential school system and its aftermath. Below are answers to some of your questions.
Canada loses more jobs in May but summer hiring boom looms
Reuters
Canada lost more jobs than expected in May amid continued lockdowns to curb a harsh third wave of COVID-19, data showed on Friday, but economists were quick to predict a rush of hiring in June as those restrictions ease.
Some 68,000 jobs were lost in May, Statistics Canada said, more than the average analyst forecast for a loss of 20,000. The unemployment rate climbed to 8.2%, in line with expectations. Employment is now 3% below pre-pandemic levels, Statscan said.
“I am hopeful that this is the last down-print we have before we release a fury of hiring activity starting in June,” said Derek Holt, vice president of Capital Market Economics at Scotiabank.
Niagara COVID Stats Tracker (May 29)
| 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% |
These data show the status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Niagara. The Province of Ontario is now using a provincewide approach to reopening, and these data no longer have any influence on Niagara’s restrictions.
Data are drawn from Niagara Region Public Health.
Guide
Reproductive number: the average number of new cases each case causes. If each person infects one other person, the rate is 1; if each person infects two people, the rate is 2. Under the outdated COVID-19 response framework, the target for “green-prevent” was less than 1.
New cases per 100,000: the total number of new cases per week identified per 100,000 population. Under the outdated COVID-19 response framework, the target for “green-prevent” was less than 10.
New cases per day: the total number of new cases identified per day over seven days using a rolling average. This number does not include identified outbreaks.
Percent of hospital beds occupied: the total percentage of the Niagara Health System’s hospital beds currently in use. The average occupancy rate of both acute care beds and total hospital beds in Ontario was 96 per cent in 2018-19. It should be noted that this rate was the highest (worst) in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Percent of intensive care beds occupied: the total percentage of the Niagara Health System’s intensive care hospital beds currently in use. The average occupancy rate of both acute care beds and total hospital beds in Ontario was 96 per cent in 2018-19. It should be noted that this rate was the highest (worst) in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Percentage of positive tests: the percentage of COVID-19 tests that were positive. Under the outdated COVID-19 response framework, the target for “green-prevent” was less than 0.5%.
Niagara COVID vaccination tracker (June 4)
Niagara’s most up-to-date vaccination numbers are presented below, along with comparison data from Ontario, Canada, and G7 countries.
Total doses administered in Niagara: 305,798
Total doses administered in Niagara since yesterday: 5,662
| Percentage of population with one dose | Percentage of population fully vaccinated | |
|---|---|---|
| Niagara | 82.7% | 78.2% |
| Ontario | 84.6% | 79.1% |
| Canada | 84.7% | 78.6% |
| United States | 75% | 64% |
| United Kingdom | 78% | 72% |
| Germany | 76% | 74% |
| France | 80% | 77% |
| Italy | 83% | 76% |
| Japan | 80% | 79% |
| World | 63% | 53% |
Data are drawn from Niagara Region, the Government of Ontario, and Oxford University’s Our World in Data project.
