Quebec leads in job surge

June 15, 2020

Employment recovery began in May as pandemic restrictions eased, with Quebec leading the upward curve, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey.
Employment rose by 289,600 in May—a sign that the worst of the labour market impacts from COVID-19 is behind us.
Canada’s labour market remains a shell of its former self, since total
employment is still 2.7 million less than it was in February, remarked Cory Renner, senior economist with the Conference Board of Canada.
The labour force survey dates were from May 10 to 16, meaning re-openings in the second half of May are not accounted for in the latest data.
Quebec accounted for nearly all the employment growth (up 230,900). The province’s employment increase was heavily supported by construction and wholesale and retail trade.
Ontario was the only province to see employment fall this month (down 64,500). Given most restrictions remained in place during the survey period, Ontario will likely see strong employment growth in June’s survey, Renner said.
All other provinces saw solid job gains with British Columbia (up 43,300) and Alberta (up 28,200) experiencing the largest increase outside Quebec.