Employment growth slowed in Canada in October as some governments re-introduced restrictions in response to spikes in COVID-19 cases.

Statistics Canada’s labour force survey for October measured labour market conditions across the country during the week of October 11 to 17. And while the operation restrictions put in place by governments weren’t nearly as encompassing as those introduced in March and April, they nonetheless slowed the country’s track record of economic growth.

Employment increased by 84,000, or 0.5 percent, in October. This was after growing by an average of 2.7 percent per month since May. The unemployment rate was 8.9 percent, little changed from September.

Employment increases in several industries were partially offset by a decrease of 48,000 in the accommodation and food services industry, largely in Quebec.

In April, the number of workers directly affected by the COVID-19 economic shutdown peaked at 5.5 million, including a 3.0 million drop in employment and a 2.5 million increase in absences from work. By October, the equivalent figure was 1.1 million, including a drop of 636,000 (-3.3 percent) in employment and an increase of 433,000 (+53.7 percent) in the number of Canadians who were employed but working less than half their usual hours.

The survey found that employment growth has stalled in many industries—construction among them. Employment in the industry was little changed for the third consecutive month. It added just 8,400 jobs for an increase of 0.6 percent. This was following employment increases totalling 190,000 (+16.2 percent) from April to July. Sectoral employment was 7.5 percent (-112,000) below its February level in October.

In its September labour force survey, Statistics Canada projected a long road to recovery for construction.

Uneven employment picture across provinces and industries

Because the COVID-19 pandemic has affected different regions to different extents, the depth and breadth of public-health restrictions introduced in the fall varies from province to province. Labour market conditions, too, varied.

Employment increased in five provinces—Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island—and held steady in the rest. Consistent with the re-introduction of COVID-19 restrictions in many regions of central Canada, the pace of employment growth slowed in Ontario while no gains were recorded in Quebec.

By October, employment levels were closest to their pre-COVID February levels in Newfoundland and Labrador (-0.5 percent), Manitoba (-2.1 percent) and New Brunswick (-2.3 percent). Among the four most populated provinces, employment was closest to February levels in British Columbia (-2.4 percent) and Quebec (-2.9 percent), and farthest in Ontario (-3.8 percent) and Alberta (-4.4 percent).

Looking ahead, Statistics Canada found that two-thirds of workers are concerned about a COVID-19 infection contracted by themselves or a family member.

Those working in the frontline industries of educational services (58.7 percent) and healthcare and social assistance (56.0 percent) were most likely to express concern about contracting COVID-19 on the job. Half (50.4 percent) of the workers in accommodation and food services were concerned about contracting COVID-19 at their workplace, while workers in agriculture (17.4 percent) were least likely to be concerned about contracting the virus on the job.