WINNIPEG -- Manitoba’s employment numbers dropped for the first time this month since April, while Canada’s as a whole slowed but rose slightly by 0.3 per cent.
Statistics Canada released its November Labour Force Survey Friday, based on labour market conditions as of November 8 to 14.
Manitobans lost 18,000 jobs last month, most of which were part-time positions. The accommodation and food services industries suffered the largest employment drop, coinciding with the province’s increased pandemic restrictions.
Manitoba upgraded Winnipeg to Code Red on November 2, after it announced 480 new cases of COVID-19 the Friday before.
The public-health orders caused movie theatres, recreational facilities, restaurant dining rooms, and many other businesses to close.
The province enforced stricter provide-wide restrictions on November 12 in the middle of the LFS reference week, with non-essential retail businesses ordered to close for in-store shopping.
Manitoba’s unemployment rate sits around 7.4 per cent, having changed little in November due to fewer Manitobans participating in the labour market.
Canada-wide full-time employment grew this month by 99,000.
Employment improved in British Columbia, Ontario, and all four Atlantic provinces, with New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia having returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Employment among women between the ages of 25 and 54 didn’t grow for the first time after increasing for six consecutive months. Since last year, mothers also worked fewer hours. However, employment for men in this age group still saw a slight increase.
Employment for Indigenous people living off-reserve also didn’t change from October, while the unemployment rate for visible minorities decreased slightly. This figure remains higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.5 per cent.
Results for December, which Statistics Canada will release at the beginning of January, may highlight the effects of continued long-term public-health orders in Manitoba.
