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Labour Force Survey, January 2021

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Released: 2021-02-05

After the December Labour Force Survey (LFS) reference week—December 6 to 12—a number of provinces extended public health measures in response to increasing COVID-19 cases. January LFS data reflect the impact of these new restrictions and provide a portrait of labour market conditions as of the week of January 10 to 16.

In Ontario, restrictions already in place for many regions of southern Ontario—including the closure of non-essential retail businesses—were extended to the rest of the province effective December 26. In Quebec, non-essential retail businesses were closed effective December 25 and a curfew implemented on January 14 further affected the operating hours of some businesses.

As of the January reference week, existing public health measures continued in Alberta and Manitoba, including the closure of in-person dining services, recreation facilities and personal care services, as well as restrictions on retail businesses.

Restrictions were eased between the December and January reference weeks in two provinces. In Prince Edward Island, closures of in-person dining and recreational and cultural facilities were lifted on December 18. In Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the surrounding area, restrictions on in-person dining were eased on January 4.

Highlights

Employment falls to lowest level since August

Employment fell by 213,000 (-1.2%) in January. Losses were entirely in part-time work and were concentrated in the Quebec and Ontario retail trade sectors.

The decline in January followed a 53,000 drop (-0.3%) in December and brought employment to its lowest level since August 2020.

Compared with February 2020, employment was down 858,000 in January and COVID-related absences from work were up 529,000. Among Canadians who worked at least half their usual hours, the number working from home increased by nearly 700,000 to 5.4 million in January, surpassing the previous high of 5.1 million in April.

Unemployment rate increases to highest level since August 2020

The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 9.4%, the highest rate since August 2020.

The number of long-term unemployed (people who have been looking for work or who have been on temporary layoff for 27 weeks or more) remained at a record high (512,000).

The labour force participation rate—defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 and older who are employed or unemployed—fell 0.3 percentage points in January to 64.7%, the lowest rate since August 2020.

In January, the labour underutilization rate rose 1.2 percentage points to 18.4%.

Employment losses highly concentrated in Central Canada

Employment fell by 213,000 (-1.2%) in January. The decline was highly concentrated in Central Canada, with losses in Ontario and Quebec totalling 251,000. Employment also fell in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Employment rose in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and held steady in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Employment falls in industries affected by new public health measures

Employment declined in January in three services-producing industries most affected by new and continuing public health restrictions—accommodation and food services (-8.2%), retail trade (-7.4%), and information, culture and recreation (-2.4%).

In the goods-producing sector, employment in construction rose by 39,000 (+2.8%) in January, driven by gains in Quebec and Alberta.

Following two months of little change, the number of people working in health care and social assistance increased (+19,000; +0.7%), bringing employment in the sector back to its pre-COVID level.

Drop in youth employment driven by employment losses among teenagers

Employment losses in January were more than twice as large among youth aged 15 to 19 (-74,000; -9.3%) than among those aged 20 to 24 (-34,000; -2.2%).

Employment fell by 107,000 (-0.9%) among people aged 25 to 54 in January, with the decline among core-aged women (-73,000; -1.3%) more than double that of core-aged men (-33,500; -0.5%).

The employment rate among core-aged parents of children aged 17 and under fell 1.5 percentage points in January to 81.8%.

More than two-fifths of Canadians (43.3%) who were employed or wanted to work were concerned about contracting COVID-19 in the workplace.

Employment falls to lowest level since August

Employment fell by 213,000 (-1.2%) in January. Losses were entirely in part-time work and were concentrated in the Quebec and Ontario retail trade sectors.

The decline in January followed a 53,000 drop (-0.3%) in December and brought employment to its lowest level since August 2020.

The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 9.4%, the highest rate since August.

By April 2020, 5.5 million workers had been directly affected by the initial widespread COVID-19 economic shutdown, which resulted in a drop in employment of 3.0 million and an increase in COVID-related absences from work of 2.5 million. In January, the equivalent number of affected workers was 1.4 million, including a decrease in employment of 858,000 and a COVID-related increase in absences of 529,000.

Chart 1  Chart 1: Employment falls to lowest level since August 2020
Employment falls to lowest level since August 2020

Drop in employment entirely in part-time work

Employment declines in January were concentrated in part-time work (-225,000; -6.7%), particularly in Ontario (-153,000; -12.0%) and Quebec (-93,000; -12.3%), where significant new public health measures were implemented at the end of December. Nationally, part-time work was down by 435,000 (-12.2%) compared with February 2020, while full-time work was down 423,000 (-2.7%).

Declines in part-time employment in January occurred mostly among youth aged 15 to 24 (-114,000; -10.2%) and women in the core working age of 25 to 54 (-103,000; -10.4%). These groups also recorded large decreases in part-time employment during the initial downturn in March and April 2020, reflecting the fact that they are more likely to work part time in industries directly affected by COVID-19 public health measures, including retail trade, and accommodation and food services.

A number of industries with a high proportion of full-time employment—including professional, scientific, and technical services; and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing—have recovered to pre-COVID employment levels in recent months and were unchanged in January.

Chart 2  Chart 2: Full-time employment holds steady, while part-time work declines
Full-time employment holds steady, while part-time work declines

Number of Canadians working from home increases by nearly 700,000 in January

Among Canadians who worked at least half their usual hours, the number working from home increased by nearly 700,000 to 5.4 million in January, surpassing the previous high of 5.1 million in April during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The number of Canadians working from home can be influenced by a number of factors, such as changes in the work location of current jobs, the work location of new hires, and the extent to which employers have been able to adapt their operations to make working from home more practical. The increase in the number of people working from home in January is partly attributable to an increase in the educational services industry, as the reference week fell during a period when some schools had temporarily transitioned back to remote learning. In addition, public health measures adopted by Ontario and Quebec in December included requirements to work from home where possible.

Self-employment holds steady after falling in December

All of the employment decline in January was among private sector employees (-211,000; -1.8%). After falling in December, the number of self-employed workers was unchanged in the month. Similarly, public sector employment held steady in January.

Compared with February 2020, self-employment was down by 7.0% (-200,000) in January, while the number of private sector employees declined by 5.9% (-727,000). Public sector employment, on the other hand, was up 1.8% (+69,000).

Unemployment rate increases to highest level since August 2020

The unemployment rate increased 0.6 percentage points to 9.4% in January. This second consecutive monthly increase brought the unemployment rate to its highest level since August 2020.

The number of unemployed Canadians rose by 125,000 (+7.1%) in January, including an increase of 62,000 (+20.6%) in the number of people on temporary layoff. The number of long-term unemployed (people who have been looking for work or have been on temporary layoff for 27 weeks or more) remained at a record high (512,000)—a reminder that as unemployment has increased in recent months, many of those affected by the initial COVID-19 economic shutdown have yet to return to employment.

The number of people who wanted a job but were not actively looking for one, and therefore did not meet the definition of unemployment, increased by 74,000 (+14.3%) in January. If people in this group had been counted as part of the group of unemployed, the adjusted unemployment rate in January would be 12.0%.

Chart 3  Chart 3: Unemployment rate increases for second month in a row
Unemployment rate increases for second month in a row

Sharp increase in the unemployment rate of Southeast Asian and Black Canadians

The unemployment rate among Southeast Asian Canadians aged 15 to 69 increased by 7.6 percentage points to 20.1% in January (not seasonally adjusted). The increase was driven by Ontario, where just over half (50.7%) of the Southeast Asian population resides.

The unemployment rate also increased notably among Black Canadians (+5.5 percentage points to 16.4%) and Latin American Canadians (+4.5 percentage points to 16.6%) in January (not seasonally adjusted). The number of unemployed Black Canadians increased by 42,000, with more than three-quarters of the increase occurring in Quebec and Ontario.

The unemployment rate rose at a slower pace among Chinese Canadians (+2.0 percentage points to 10.8%) and Canadians who are neither Indigenous nor part of a group designated as a visible minority (+1.7 percentage points to 8.9%, not seasonally adjusted).

Growth in total hours worked resumes

Along with employment, total hours worked across all industries is a core indicator of the state of the labour market. Total hours worked can be influenced by a number of factors such as employment growth, compositional change in employment by industry and occupation, and changes in absences from work.

In January, total hours worked increased by 0.9%, as losses in "other services" and wholesale and retail trade were more than offset by gains in construction; finance, insurance, real estate and rental and leasing; and public administration.

After reaching a low in April, hours worked increased steadily before flattening in December. Despite the resumption of growth in January, total hours worked were down 4.5% compared with pre-COVID February levels, with more than half (-54.3%) of the decline among self-employed workers.

Labour force shrinks for second consecutive month

The labour force participation rate—defined as the percentage of the population aged 15 and older who are employed or unemployed—fell 0.3 percentage points in January to 64.7%, the lowest rate since August 2020. As a result of lower participation, the labour force shrunk by 88,000 (-0.4%) in January, adding to a decline of 21,000 (-0.1%) in December.

Confronted by changing labour market conditions, different groups of workers are faced with deciding whether to stay in the labour market or withdraw until conditions improve. The labour force declines in January included a decrease of 46,000 (-3.3%) in the number of female youth aged 15 to 24 who were employed or unemployed. Although core-age women posted the largest employment declines in the month, this resulted in an increase in unemployment for this group rather than large-scale withdrawals from the labour force.

Labour market underutilization rate continues to increase

Since March 2020, the labour underutilization rate has served as an overall indicator of the impact of COVID-19 on labour market conditions. Above and beyond the unemployment rate, this rate reflects the proportion of people in the potential labour force who are unemployed; want a job but have not looked for one; or are employed but working less than half of their usual hours for reasons likely related to COVID-19.

After surging from February (11.4%) to April (36.2%) at the height of the COVID-19 economic shutdown, the labour underutilization rate trended downward to 17.0% in November. In January, the rate rose 1.2 percentage points to 18.4%. Each of the components of labour underutilization increased in the month, including those who wanted a job but did not look for one (+74,000; +14.3%); job searchers (+64,000; +4.3%); those on temporary layoff or with arrangements to start a job in the near future (+62,000; +20.6%); and people who were employed but worked less than half their usual hours (+44,000; +3.4%).

Infographic 1  Thumbnail for Infographic 1: Components of labour underutilization
Components of labour underutilization

Employment losses highly concentrated in Central Canada

Employment fell by 213,000 (-1.2%) in January. The decline was highly concentrated in Central Canada, with losses in Ontario and Quebec totalling 251,000. Employment also fell in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Employment rose in Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and held steady in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

For further information on key province-level and industry-level labour market indicators, see "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app."

In Ontario, employment fell by 154,000 (-2.1%) in January, the first notable decline since May 2020. The unemployment rate rose 0.6 percentage points to 10.2%, driven in part by an increase in the number of people on temporary layoff (+38,000; +28.9%).

Ontario was in lockdown prior to the week of January 10 to 16 and a stay-at-home order was implemented during the LFS reference week. These restrictions are reflected in the composition of employment losses in the province, which were all in part-time work (-153,000; -12.0%), and largely in the retail trade, and accommodation and food services industries.

In Quebec, employment decreased by 98,000 (-2.3%) in January, the first notable decline since April 2020. With more people looking for work, the unemployment rate rose two full percentage points to 8.8%, the highest level since August. Employment losses were concentrated in part-time work (-93,000; -12.3%) and occurred largely in retail trade. In contrast, there were more people working in construction.

For the first time since April 2020, employment in Newfoundland and Labrador fell in January (- 2,700; -1.2%), all in full-time work. The unemployment rate remained the highest among all provinces, at 12.8%.

Chart 4  Chart 4: Employment losses in January concentrated in Quebec and Ontario
Employment losses in January concentrated in Quebec and Ontario

Employment increases in four provinces

In Alberta, employment increased for the first time since October (+21,000; +1.0%), all in part-time work. There were more people working in construction, while employment held steady in natural resources and fell in accommodation and food services.

After declining for two consecutive months, employment in Manitoba increased by 5,500 (+0.9%) in January, driven by gains in full-time work. The unemployment rate was little changed at 8.0%.

In Nova Scotia, employment increased by 7,800 (+1.7%) in January, offsetting the decline in the previous month. The unemployment rate was 8.3%, little changed from December, as more people participated in the labour market.

In Prince Edward Island, more people worked in January (+900; +1.2%) and the unemployment rate fell 2.0 percentage points to 7.9%.

Employment falls in industries directly affected by new public health measures

Employment declined in January in three services-producing industries most affected by new and continuing public health restrictions—accommodation and food services (-8.2%), retail trade (-7.4%), and information, culture and recreation (-2.4%). Conversely, employment increased notably in health care and social assistance (+0.7%).

Employment in construction rose by 39,000 (+2.8%) in January, driven by gains in Quebec and Alberta. The increase in January brought employment in the construction industry to within 3.9% of its February pre-pandemic level. With the exception of agriculture (-2.3%), employment in all other goods-producing industries was unchanged in the month.

Overall, employment in both the services- (-5.1%) and goods-producing (-2.0%) sectors remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Chart 5  Chart 5: Notable employment declines in retail trade, accommodation and food services, and information, culture and recreation
Notable employment declines in retail trade, accommodation and food services, and information, culture and recreation

Employment in retail trade falls in the wake of new public health restrictions

The number of Canadians employed in retail trade fell by 160,000 (-7.4%) in January, with nearly all of the drop occurring in Ontario and Quebec, both of which implemented new restrictions on non-essential shopping at the end of December. Among employees, employment losses were more pronounced in small establishments (fewer than 20 employees) and establishments with 20 to 99 employees (not seasonally adjusted).

After falling by almost one-quarter (-522,000; -23.1%) from February to April, employment in retail trade rose throughout the spring and summer and continued to grow at a slower pace in the fall. Similarly, retail sales increased for seven consecutive months from May to November. As of December, employment in retail trade was within 3.7% of its pre-COVID level. However, with the January losses, employment in the industry fell back to 10.8% below February levels. On a year-over-year basis, the number of employees in retail trade was down by 19.1% in small establishments, and by 12.1% in establishments with 20 to 99 employees. In contrast, the number of employees in larger establishments (100 employees or more) was little changed from January 2020 to January 2021.

In January, part-time employment in retail trade was down 13.7% on a year-over-year basis, while full-time work in the sector was down 8.3%. Both during the initial COVID-19 economic shutdown and in January 2021, employment losses resulting from public health restrictions on retail shopping have included substantial declines in part-time employment. This is explained in part by the importance of part-time work in the industry. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than one-third (34.3%) of 2019 employment in retail trade was part time, compared with an average of 19.0% for all employment. Part-time employment in retail trade accounted for a larger share of total 2019 employment among youth (17.1%) than among workers as a whole (4.0%).

Chart 6  Chart 6: Recovery to pre-COVID employment levels varies across industries
Recovery to pre-COVID employment levels varies across industries

Employment falls in accommodation and food services for the fourth consecutive month

Employment in the accommodation and food services industry declined for the fourth consecutive month, falling by 75,000 (-8.2%) in January 2021. Employment in the industry was almost one-third (-31.4%; -384,000) lower in January compared with February 2020. After falling by one-half (-49.8%; -609,000) from February to April 2020, employment in accommodation and food services increased over the summer and peaked in September, when employment was 14.9% below its pre-pandemic level. Since then, the struggles faced by the industry have been illustrated by both the steady decline in employment and a decline in sales at food services and drinking places, which fell by 8.9% in October and 3.7% in November.

Challenges persist in information, culture and recreation

The number of Canadians working in the information, culture and recreation industry fell by 17,000 (-2.4%) in January. Employment in this industry has followed a trend similar to that of accommodation and food services, with sharp declines in March and April followed by a partial recovery over the summer and a steady decline in the fall. As of January, employment in the industry—which has been hit hard by limits on public gatherings—was 14.7% lower compared with February 2020.

Employment up in health care and social assistance

Following two months of little change, the number of people working in health care and social assistance increased in January (+19,000; +0.7%), bringing employment in the sector back to its pre-COVID level. Nearly all of the gain in January occurred in Ontario.

The health care sector is unique in both its importance to the ongoing response to COVID-19 and in the risks and challenges faced by workers in the sector. For example, according to a recent Statistics Canada release (Mental health among health care workers in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic) 7 in 10 health care workers reported worsening mental health during the pandemic. LFS data show that this sector is a particularly important source of employment for Black Canadians. For example, almost one-third (31.7%) of Black women working in the three months ending in January were employed in health care and social assistance (not seasonally adjusted). Among Black women working in this sector, more than a third (36.3%) were employed in the relatively low-paid occupational group of nurse aides and orderlies.

Recent data on job vacancies provide additional insights into future employment trends in the sector. In November 2020, health care and social assistance had a higher job vacancy rate than all other industries and accounted for more than one-fifth (112,700) of all job vacancies (not seasonally adjusted). While high job vacancies can be an indicator of growing employment, they can also be a signal of mismatches between labour supply and demand.

Disruptions to immigration resulting from COVID-19 travel restrictions may partially explain the high level of job vacancies in health care, as immigrants play a particularly important role in the sector. For example, in January, 41.3% of nurse aides and orderlies and 42.8% of specialist physicians were immigrants (three-month averages; not seasonally adjusted).

Drop in youth employment driven by employment losses among teenagers

Employment among youth aged 15 to 24 declined by 108,000 (-4.6%) in January, falling to its lowest level since August 2020. Employment for female youth fell by 69,000 (-6.1%) and was farther (-17.4%) from its pre-COVID February 2020 level than was for any other major demographic group. Male youth employment fell by 39,000 (-3.3%) and was 11.6% lower than it was in February 2020.

For male youth, part-time losses in January (-72,000; -14.8%) were partially offset by full-time gains (+33,000; +4.7%). Among female youth, on the other hand, employment fell for both full-time (-27,000; -5.3%) and part-time (-41,000; -6.6%) work. For both young men and young women, losses in part-time work in January were highly concentrated in retail trade (not seasonally adjusted).

Employment losses in January were more than twice as large among youth aged 15 to 19 (-74,000; -9.3%) than among those aged 20 to 24 (-34,000; -2.2%). Compared with February 2020, employment in January was further from pre-pandemic levels for teenagers than for those in their early 20s, a reversal of recent trends.

Chart 7  Chart 7: Employment losses in January most significant for youngest workers
Employment losses in January most significant for youngest workers

The unemployment rate for youth rose 1.9 percentage points in January to 19.7%, the highest rate since August. The increase in the unemployment rate was led by a rise in the number of female youth on temporary layoff. The unemployment rate increased more quickly for teenagers (+2.5 percentage points to 24.0%) than for youth aged 20 to 24 (+1.7 percentage points to 17.5%). The youth participation rate fell 1.4 percentage points to 62.0% in January, driven entirely by fewer teenagers in the labour force (-3.1 percentage points to 46.0%).

Larger employment losses in January for core-aged women than men

Employment fell by 107,000 (-0.9%) among people aged 25 to 54 in January. As in March and April 2020, when the initial COVID-19 economic shutdown resulted in larger job losses for women than for men, the employment decline in January was more than twice as large among core-aged women (-73,000; -1.3%) than among core-aged men (-33,500; -0.5%). Employment losses for core-aged women included a decline of 103,000 (-10.4%) in part-time work. Following losses in the month, employment for core-aged women was 3.2% lower than its pre-COVID February 2020 level, while employment for core-aged men was 2.7% lower.

The unemployment rate for core-aged women rose 1.1 percentage points in January to 7.8%, as the number of unemployed was up 68,000 (+16.4%). This increase was split evenly between those looking for work and those on temporary layoff. The unemployment rate for men was little changed from December at 7.5%.

The participation rate for core-aged adults edged down from December, but remained similar to pre-pandemic levels for both men (90.9%) and women (83.6%).

Employment for parents affected by lockdowns in January and transition to remote learning

The employment rate among core-aged parents of children aged 17 and under fell 1.5 percentage points in January to 81.8% (not seasonally adjusted). The decrease was more pronounced among mothers whose youngest child was aged 6 to 12, for whom the employment rate fell 2.9 percentage points to 77.4% (not seasonally adjusted). This was the largest monthly decline for parents since April, as their employment rate had approached pre-COVID levels in September and had been relatively stable over the fall. In addition to employment losses affecting parents in January, schools in parts of the country transitioned to remote learning for all or part of the month, which may have affected the ability of some parents to work a full schedule or to work at all.

The proportion of employed parents who reported losing more than half their hours for reasons likely related to COVID-19 rose by 0.9 percentage points to 7.1% in January, with a notable increase among mothers whose youngest child was aged 6 to 12 (+1.7 percentage points to 8.7%; not seasonally adjusted). This proportion has fallen from its peak of 20.5% in April 2020, but remains above the average of 4.3% in 2019.

Little change in labour market conditions for older workers

All main indicators of labour market conditions for Canadians aged 55 and older were essentially unchanged in January. Employment remained below pre-pandemic February levels for older men (-2.2%) and women (-3.9%). Likewise, the unemployment rate for older workers (8.2%) and their participation rate (43.3% for older men and 31.8% for older women) were little changed from December.

Employment rate continues to hold steady for very recent immigrants

Among immigrants who landed within the last five years, the employment rate in the three months ending in January (65.5%) was little changed on a year-over-year basis (not seasonally adjusted). The stability of the employment rate for this group continues to be mostly due to the decline in population resulting from the impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions on immigration.

In contrast, the employment rate in the three months ending in January remained lower than a year earlier for immigrants who landed more than five years ago (-2.5 percentage points to 57.5%) and for people born in Canada (-3.0 percentage points to 58.7%).

Employment rate continues to lag for Indigenous Canadians

The employment rate among Indigenous Canadians in the three months ending in January was 51.0%, down 5.4 percentage points on a year-over-year basis. Over the same period, the employment rate for the three months ending in January among the non-Indigenous fell 2.6 percentage points to 58.8%.

Looking ahead: Balancing economic activity and public health

Recent labour market data illustrate the continuing challenge of balancing economic activity with the need to protect public health. Employment losses in January—highly concentrated in the Ontario and Quebec retail trade sectors—illustrate the continuing vulnerability of specific sectors and groups of workers to employment losses resulting directly from COVID-19 restrictions.

LFS data on Canadians' concerns related to COVID-19 shed some light on how workers perceive current labour market risks and opportunities. In January 2021, more than two-fifths of Canadians (43.3%) who were employed or wanted to work were concerned about contracting COVID-19 in the workplace. This was down slightly (-1.8%) from November, when the question was first asked of the entire LFS sample. Concern remained highest among those with limited opportunities to work from home, including current and recent workers in health care and social assistance (57.8%); educational services (54.8%); retail trade (49.9%); transportation and warehousing (47.0%); and accommodation and food services (46.5%) (not seasonally adjusted).

As the battle against COVID-19 continues, with the possibility that further targeted restrictions could be implemented in the coming months, along with the promise that some sectors may be able to open more fully, the LFS will continue to provide Canadians with insights into the labour market conditions of diverse sectors and regions, and for groups of workers.













Sustainable Development Goals

On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.

The Labour Force Survey is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the global sustainable development goals. This release will be used to help measure the following goals:

  Note to readers

The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for January are for the week of January 10 to 16.

The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. For more information, see "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."

This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.

LFS estimates at the Canada level do not include the territories.

The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labour market indicators released by Statistics Canada, which includes indicators from programs such as the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH); Employment Insurance Statistics; and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey. For more information on the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and those from the SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (Catalogue number71-543-G).

Since March 2020, all face-to-face interviews have been replaced by telephone interviews to protect the health of both interviewers and respondents. In addition, all telephone interviews were conducted by interviewers working from their home and none were done from Statistics Canada's call centres. As has been the case each month since June, approximately 40,000 interviews were completed in January.

The distribution of LFS interviews in January 2021 compared with December 2020, was as follows:

Telephone interviews – from interviewer homes

• December 2020: 67.6%

• January 2021: 67.6%

Online interviews

• December 2020: 32.4%

• January 2021: 32.4%

The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youths aged 15 to 24) is the number employed in that group as a percentage of the population for that group.

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force (employed and unemployed).

The participation rate is the number of employed and unemployed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older.

Full-time employment consists of persons who usually work 30 hours or more per week at their main or only job.

Part-time employment consists of persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week at their main or only job.

Total hours worked refers to the number of hours actually worked at the main job by the respondent during the reference week, including paid and unpaid hours. These hours reflect temporary decreases or increases in work hours (for example, hours lost due to illness, vacation, holidays or weather; or more hours worked due to overtime).

In general, month-to-month or year-to-year changes in the number of people employed in an age group reflect the net effect of two factors: (1) the number of people who changed employment status between reference periods, and (2) the number of employed people who entered or left the age group (including through aging, death or migration) between reference periods.

Supplementary indicators used in January 2021 analysis

To continue capturing the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market, the supplementary indicators used in March and April were slightly adapted. Therefore, the May 2020 to January 2021 supplementary indicators are not directly comparable to the supplementary indicators published for March and April 2020.

Employed, worked zero hours includes employees and self-employed who were absent from work all week, but excludes people who have been away for reasons such as 'vacation,' 'maternity,' 'seasonal business' and 'labour dispute.'

Employed, worked less than half of their usual hours includes both employees and self-employed, where only employees were asked to provide a reason for the absence. This excludes reasons for absence such as 'vacation,' 'labour dispute,' 'maternity,' 'holiday,' and 'weather.' Also excludes those who were away all week.

Not in labour force but wanted work includes persons who were neither employed, nor unemployed during the reference period and wanted work, but did not search for reasons such as 'waiting for recall (to former job),' 'waiting for replies from employers,' 'believes no work available (in area, or suited to skills),' 'long-term future start,' and 'other.'

Unemployed, job searchers were without work, but had looked for work in the past four weeks ending with the reference period and were available for work.

Unemployed, temporary layoff or future starts were on temporary layoff due to business conditions, with an expectation of recall, and were available for work; or were without work, but had a job to start within four weeks from the reference period and were available for work (don't need to have looked for work during the four weeks ending with the reference week).

Labour underutilization rate (specific definition to measure the COVID-19 impact) combines all those who were unemployed with those who were not in the labour force but wanted a job and did not look for one; as well as those who remained employed but lost all or the majority of their usual work hours for reasons likely related to COVID-19 as a proportion of the potential labour force.

Potential labour force (specific definition to measure the COVID-19 impact) includes people in the labour force (all employed and unemployed people), and people not in the labour force who wanted a job but didn't search for reasons such as 'waiting for recall (to former job),' 'waiting for replies from employers,' 'believes no work available (in area, or suited to skills),' 'long-term future start,' and 'other.'

Information on population groups

Beginning in July 2020, the LFS includes a question asking respondents to report the population groups to which they belong. Possible responses, which are the same as in the 2016 Census, include:

• White

• South Asian e.g., East Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan

• Chinese

• Black

• Filipino

• Arab

• Latin American

• Southeast Asian e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai

• West Asian e.g., Iranian, Afghan

• Korean

• Japanese

• Other

For LFS records interviewed before July, population group characteristics were assigned using an experimental sample matching data integration method, which involves LFS and the Census of Population This historical data complements occasional population group data collected directly in LFS, through a comparison of year-over-year changes in the unemployment rate.

According to the Employment Equity Act, visible minorities are "persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour." In the text, data for the population who identify as Aboriginals are analyzed separately. The remaining category is described as "people not designated as visible minorities" or "people who are not a visible minority."

Seasonal adjustment

Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted estimates, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.

The seasonally adjusted data for retail trade and wholesale trade industries presented here are not published in other public LFS tables. A seasonally adjusted series is published for the combined industry classification (wholesale and retail trade).

Revisions to the Labour Force Survey

To ensure that the LFS reflects current labour market conditions as accurately as possible, data are revised following each census to reflect the most recently available population estimates, geographic boundaries, and industry and occupation classifications. This standard revision process results in minor changes to recent and historical LFS data and has little impact on trends in key labour market indicators, such as employment, unemployment, and labour force participation rates.

Changes to LFS data tables on the Statistics Canada website and information products resulting from this historical revision were announced in The Daily on January 25, 2021.

More details on these revisions are available in the article "The 2021 Revisions of the Labour Force Survey (LFS)," as part of the Improvements to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) (Catalogue number71F0031X) series.

Next release

The next release of the LFS will be on March 12, 2021.

Products

More information about the concepts and use of the Labour Force Survey is available online in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (Catalogue number71-543-G).

The product "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app" (Catalogue number14200001) is also available. This interactive visualization application provides seasonally adjusted estimates available by province, sex, age group and industry. Historical estimates going back five years are also included for monthly employment changes and unemployment rates. The interactive application allows users to quickly and easily explore and personalize the information presented. Combine multiple provinces, sexes and age groups to create your own labour market domains of interest.

The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province and census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is also available. This interactive dashboard provides easy, customizable access to key labour market indicators. Users can now configure an interactive map and chart showing labour force characteristics at the national, provincial or census metropolitan area level.

The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (Catalogue number71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to Statistics Canada's labour market indicators for Canada, by province, territory and economic region and allows users to view a snapshot of key labour market indicators, observe geographical rankings for each indicator using an interactive map and table, and easily copy data into other programs.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; STATCAN.infostats-infostats.STATCAN@canada.ca) or Media Relations (613-951-4636; STATCAN.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.STATCAN@canada.ca).

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