MONTREAL ― Canada’s unemployment rate hit 13 per cent in April as the country shed 2 million jobs, Statistics Canada reported on Friday.
With the total number of jobs coming in at 16.2 million in April, the country effectively erased all its job gains going back to the spring of 2005.
But the real job loss situation appears to be much worse than the numbers suggest.
More than 1.1 million people left the labour force in April, telling Statistics Canada they aren’t searching for work. Had those people been included in the unemployment statistics, Canada’s jobless rate would be 17.8 per cent.
Watch: Indeed.com reveals where Canadian jobs have shifted during the pandemic. Story continues below.
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On top of the job losses, another 2.5 million Canadians worked less than half their usual hours in April, Statistics Canada said.
The agency described the job losses as “unprecedented.”
More to come.
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