Initial Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Canadian Labour Market

In this study, we review the initial impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the Canadian labour market. We focus on changes in employment and aggregate hours worked between February 2020 and April 2020 while accounting for normal monthly changes in these indicators. We find that COVID-19 induced a 32 percent decline in aggregate weekly work hours among workers aged 20–64 years, alongside a 15 percent decline in employment. We characterize the distribution of work lost, finding that nearly half of job losses are attributed to workers in the bottom earnings quartile. Those most affected by COVID-19 are in public-facing jobs in industries most affected by shutdowns (accommodation and food services), younger workers, paid hourly, and non-union. The results provide context for policy development, with both supply and demand sides of the labour market to consider.