Reopenings spur entry-level jobs rebound in February

The broad reopenings of public space in provinces across Canada in February helped boost job prospects for young workers and those in entry-level positions, jobs data released on Friday showed.

Youth employment has swung more drastically than the overall workforce with the on-off restrictions on retail, hospitality and recreational businesses and activities imposed to deal with waves of COVID-19 infections over the past two years, and the latest monthly data followed the trend.

A fifth wave fuelled by the Omicron variant receded in February, with absences bouncing back to typical levels and total hours worked above February 2020 levels for the first time since the pandemic began as most provinces took the opportunity to relax rules.

“We are finally seeing some good news for job-seeking youth,” said Angela Simo Brown, the lead executive at MaRS Discovery District’s Opportunity for All Youth. “Employment opportunities are returning in a meaningful way for youth and entry-level workers across Canada, even in those sectors hardest hit by the pandemic.”

But while young people certainly returned to the retail, hospitality and recreation work that bounced back last month, they have also shifted out of those industries over the past two years, Statistics Canada said in its monthly labour force survey released on Friday.

Youth employment in accommodation and food services is down 89,000 versus February 2020 (despite a 114,000 jump last month), while 45,000 more young people worked in professional, scientific and technical services and 34,000 more went into health care and social assistance since then, the federal stats agency said.

Among youth aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate fell 2.7 percentage points to 10.9 per cent in February after increasing 2.5 percentage points in January when Ontario and Quebec closures led to sharp job losses.

Some 42,000 more youth worked in the retail trade last month versus February 2020, accounting for more than a quarter of all youth jobs.

Overall, employment rose 337,000, or 1.8 per cent, in the reference week in mid-February, more than offsetting losses that coincided with stricter public health measures in January.

The unemployment rate dropped a percentage point to 5.5 per cent in February, lower than in February 2020 and near the record low of May 2019.

Morgan Sharp / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada’s National Observer