Vol. 5 Issue 2, May 14, 2020
Hamilton's Labour Market Connection
Your weekly news & updates from WPH!
In this week's edition: Labour Market Information - general information, employment rates demographics by sex/age; Hiring young people during the pandemic, Hamilton March LMI, Pandemic interview questions
What's Happening In The Labour Market?
There are two months of labour market data available during the pandemic (March and April). The following information from the Labour Force Survey shows general labour market data for Hamilton and Ontario during April and includes data from previous months for comparison. The data shows labour markets experiencing a dramatic deterioration due to economic lock-downs and may lead to sluggish recovery in the foreseeable future.

Unemployment/Employment Rates

  • Hamilton saw 16,600 jobs lost in April and 20,500 total jobs over the last two months.
  • Hamilton's unemployment rate increased by 1.8 percentage points to 7.5%. This is Hamilton’s highest unemployment rate since June 2010.
  • Across Ontario there are have been over a million job losses (1,092,000) over the last two months. This has been Ontario’s fastest drop in employment ever.
  • Nearly two thirds of the job losses have been full-time jobs. The share of full-time job losses was actually higher in April than in March.
  • The massive job losses have increased the unemployment rate to close to its highest levels in Canada and one of the highest in Ontario.
  • The share of working hours also decreased drastically. More than one-third (36.7%) of the potential labour force did not work or worked less than half of their usual hours. In comparison, this rate was 11.3% in February.

The below chart shows the unemployment rate in Ontario (orange line) and Canada (blue line) from January 1976 - the beginning of Statistics Canada recording labour market information, through to April 2020. The numbers are represented by percentages.
Demographics - Age

  • The employment and labour force participation rates decreased to points not seen before.
  • Among core-aged workers (25 to 54 years) there was a 10-percentage point drop-in employment rates, decreasing from 82.5 to 72.4 percent.
  • Certain population have been more affected such as youth and females.
  • As of April, just over a third of young workers, aged 15 to 24 years, are working. And there unemployment rate is 24%.
  • These reveals a large portion of young people are out of the labour force entirely.

The below chart shows the employment rates broken down into age groups for Ontario. These numbers are based on percentages.
Demographics - Sex

  • The employment rate for females is 48%
  • The majority of women in Ontario are now not working
  • The female employment rate is the lowest that has ever been recorded by Statistics Canada since 1976
  • However, in April the employment rate for males dropped faster compared to females (6.1 percentage points)

The chart below depicts the employment rate declines based on sexes for Ontario. The numbers are represented by percentages.
WPH will continue to monitor labour market and report on changes and evolving conditions.
Next week we will feature different impacts the pandemic has on the labour market.

*Many of these charts were created using Ontario labour force figures. They are unadjusted for seasonality. The trends are still relevant for Hamilton’s labour market as the industrial make-up is very similar between the province as a whole and Hamilton
The "recent labour underutilization rate" combines those who were unemployed; those who were not in the labour force, who wanted a job, but did not look for one; and those who were employed but worked less than half of their usual hours
Employing Younger Workers During the Pandemic
young professionals
For those at the beginning of their working lives, the long-term impact of earnings lost to COVID-19 could be particularly large. Gaining work experience during the pandemic will help Canada’s young people to obtain the skills they’ll need in a post-pandemic world.

Hamilton Labour Force Information:
March 2020
Prepare For These Pandemic Job Interview Questions

The LinkedIn community provided insight to which potential pandemic-related questions you should prepare for ahead of a job interview. Also, many people offered advice on how to answer those questions. Use this article to prepare for any interview during or after the pandemic.

The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the City of Hamilton, Hamilton Economic Development, and the Flamborough and Stoney Creek Chambers of Commerce, are closely monitoring and assessing new developments pertaining to COVID-19, as well as its impacts on Hamilton business.

Workforce Planning Hamilton | 905-521-5777| info@workforceplanninghamilton.ca | www.workforceplanninghamilton.ca