Canadian Employment Plummets In January With Omicron Spread
According to the Globe and Mail, Canadian employment plummeted in January and work absences due to illness soared to record levels as the Omicron variant drove a steep uptick in COVID-19 infections.
The country lost 200,000 jobs last month, the first decline in employment since May, Statistics Canada said on Friday. The unemployment rate rose to 6.5 per cent from 6 per cent. The job losses were about twice financial analysts’ median estimate of 110,000 positions.
But the fallout was not limited to layoffs. During the week of Jan. 9 to 15, roughly 1.6 million people were employed but worked less than half their usual hours, an increase of 620,000 from December.
