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Ontario’s employment took a major blow in April, after the province’s mandatory closure of non-essential businesses. A provincial-wide stay-at-home order also took effect on April 8th, 2021, impacting employment and businesses even more.
Here is a quick look at how employment in Ontario was impacted in April 2021, compiled by our employment experts at Nova Staffing. All data is from the Ontario Government April 2021 Labour Market report.
Employment Summary
Employment dropped significantly in Ontario in April due to provincial-wide measures meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 that shut down or limited many businesses. 7.2 million people in Ontario were employed in April, down from 152,700 jobs from March.
Unemployment rose as a result as well. Unemployment dropped down to 7.5% in March but rose up to 9% in April with 716,800 fewer jobs. This was a shocking 20.2% increase in unemployment.
Employment by Age
Youth employment continued to suffer the most as a result of COVID-19 measures. In April, youth employment (15-24) had 73,000 fewer jobs and saw unemployment rise to 20.4%, up from 15.1% in April.
Adult employment (25-54) was also heavily impacted by the measured put in place in April 2021. This demographic saw employment decrease 37,600 jobs, with unemployment rising from 6.7% in March to 7.3% in April. Senior employment also suffered, losing 42,100 jobs and unemployment rising to 7.2%.
Employment by Sector
Government restriction on the types of businesses deemed essential and other measures disproportionally impacted some sectors more than others. In April, those that were furthest were their pre-COVID-19 levels were Accommodation and Food Services (-135.1%), Wholesale and Retail Trade (-73%), Business, Building, and Other Support Services (-45.6%), and Transportation and Warehousing (-27.9%).
Not all industries saw employment loss, however. A number of sectors, especially those deemed essential by the government, saw employment growth in April. This included Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (+40.8%), Finance, Insurance, Real Estate, Rental and Leasing (+33.4%), Manufacturing (+14.7%), and Public Administration (+8.9%).
Employment by Region
Despite Ontario’s overall employment outlook dropping in April, thirteen out of the province’s sixteen CMAs saw employment levels increase between March and April. This included Hamilton (6.6%), Ottawa-Gatineau (6.4%), St. Catharines-Niagara (6.1%), Toronto (4.9%), London (3.6%), Windsor (3%), Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo (3%), Peterborough (2.8%), Barrie (2%), Guelph (1.8%), Brantford (1%), and Greater Sudbury (0.7%).
The three regions that saw notable declines in employment were Oshawa (-2.4%), Belleville (-2%), and Kingston (-1.3%).
Is your company looking for staffing solutions or need help hiring top talent? Contact Nova Staffing today! With over 200 years of combined industry experience, our team of employment experts is here to help.
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