The impact of COVID-19 on the gig economy: Short- and long-term concerns. StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada. Catalogue no. 45280001. Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada, Government of Canada.
Gig workers (GWs) are over-represented in the services industry, which has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors argue that the impact of COVID-19 on GWs is likely to be unevenly distributed, largely depending on the nature and type of gig work. Immediate effects will depend on certain characteristics, mainly age, place of…Read More
VSE COVID-19 risk/reward assessment tool. University of British Columbia, Vancouver School of Economics.
The VSE COVID Risk/Reward Assessment Tool compares the risks and benefits of re-opening different sectors of the British Columbia economy (over 300 occupations in over 100 industries). It features an interactive figure and a table with more detailed information on the risks associated with specific sectors and occupations. The analysis of risk is presented according…Read More
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on postsecondary students. The Daily. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada.
Statistics Canada collected data via an online questionnaire from more than 100,000 postsecondary students between April 19 and May 1 about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their academic, labour market and financial situations. Most participants reported an academic disruption because of the pandemic and a major impact on their employment plans. Many student participants…Read More
Impact of COVID-19 on Small Businesses in Canada. StatCan COVID-19: Data to Insights for a Better Canada. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada.
Statistics Canada collected data from 12,600 businesses that took part in an online questionnaire between April 3 and April 24 about how COVID-19 has affected them. The findings show that small businesses (fewer than 100 employees) were more likely to report that their revenues from Q1 were down by 20% or more (compared to Q1…Read More
Environics Institute for Survey Research, Future Skills Centre, Ted Rogers School of Management, & Diversity Institute. (2020, May). Canadian’s shifting outlook on employment: 2020 survey on employment and skills, preliminary report. Toronto, ON: Environics Institute for Survey Research.
This multi-partner study found that Canadians did not lose confidence in themselves or in society’s safety despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the pandemic, 54% reported that they felt they could bounce back quickly after these hard times. Individuals with higher levels of education and income reported higher levels confidence. Workers in less…Read More
The short-term economic consequences of COVID-19: Occupation tasks and mental health in Canada. IZA DP No. 13254. Bonn, Germany: IZA Institute of Labor Economics.
The authors investigate the negative impact of the pandemic on unemployment, labour force participation, hours and wages in Canada. The largest effects observed were for younger, unmarried, less-educated workers. Results also suggest that the impact of the pandemic was significantly worse for those more exposed to the disease or working in proximity to coworkers. The…Read More
Restart playbook must balance risks with economic costs. Crisis Working Group Report, Communique #5. Toronto: C.D. Howe Institute.
The C.D. Howe Institute created a working group of industry experts and economists, meeting weekly to identify and prioritize the policy challenges of COVID-19. In this communique, the working group makes several recommendations for restarting the Canadian economy after the pandemic closures. Specifically, they note that provincial governments are best positioned to determine when and…Read More
Sociodemographic determinants of occupational risks of exposure to COVID-19 in Canada. Department of Sociology, University of Toronto.
This paper explores how occupational exposure risks vary by labour force characteristics in the Canadian context. The author uses Census and O*Net data to provide occupational information on the levels of physical proximity to others and frequency of exposure to infection or disease. The study finds that women work in occupations associated with significantly higher…Read More
COVID-19 and Ontario’s sales and service workers: Who is most vulnerable? Toronto: MaRS Discovery District.
By focusing on Ontario’s sales and service industry, MaRS uses March 2020 Labour Force Survey (LFS) data to measure the vulnerability of workers to the risk of COVID-19 exposure. For this study, they mapped the list of essential workplaces in Ontario to industries (NAICS), and used the methodology of the New York Times and the…Read More
COVID-19: Economic policy options for managing and recovering from the crisis in Quebec and Canada. Montréal, QC: CIRANO.
The author believes that this unprecedented health crisis provides a critical opportunity for economic and democratic development. He presents a set of economic policy suggestions in response to the economic impacts of COVID-19. The plan emphasizes three components: 1) managing the health crisis, 2) financially supporting individuals and businesses affected in the short-term, and 3)…Read More