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The economy of Canada has indeed come under pressure from the effects of the pandemic. There have been quite a good number of job losses over the past few months. The unemployment rate more than doubled to around 14% between February and April this year. Not only have people lost jobs, they have stopped looking for work. The negative effects on the labour market have affected younger, not married and less educated workers.
The impact of the pandemic was more severe for workers more exposed to disease and workers that work in close proximity to coworkers, while the effects are significantly less severe for essential workers or the ones that work remotely. Women and less educated workers are more likely to suffer from lower levels of mental health.
Covid-19 may increase demand for certain goods and products such as packaged goods, grocery store items, drug stores and items delivered by delivery companies. These companies may seek to fill numerous positions due to the increased demand for certain items. It is important for the government and policy makers to study the trade-off between disease prevention, employment and health. Note that this recession is unlike any other in Canada’s history. Certain sectors of the economy came to a halt to prevent the spread of the virus. It will definitely take some time to restore the jobs that were lost during the epidemic’s early few months.
Indeed, an ambitious reconstruction plan needs to be worked out by the Government to fine tune the economy and investment in infrastructure, public services and direct hiring would yield some dividends but the effort has to go on for the long term growth of the economy. .Since lower income folks were hit harder, the inequality in income across communities needs to be addressed as well. Proper income support, unemployment benefits and job assistance should be an ongoing policy.
Some industries might change their entire business models because of all the workplace safety precautions so remote work will be encouraged to diffuse the spread of the virus. This means that the public sector in Canada will sustain more debt yet stimulating employment through various economic measures can bring positive results but that will take some time to accomplish.
Furthermore, workers will need to voice their concerns about working conditions for example if the workers are working in close proximity to other colleagues or customers, if inadequate safety precautions are jeopardizing health and safety of workers, they need to be addressed as well through a proactive culture from Canadians especially for Canadians working in health care settings. This might entail wage subsidies or other benefits to those in high risk professions.
Researched by Ali Shahrukh