Canada’s unemployment rate climbed drastically to 13 percent in April, as the COVID-19 pandemic caused the loss of nearly two-million jobs across the country.
April was the first full month of lockdowns and the closure of non-essential services to slow the spread of COVID-19 .
On Friday morning Statistics Canada says 1,993,800 people lost their jobs.
It comes after more than one-million jobs were lost in March, which was also record setting.
In Saskatchewan alone, nearly 53,000 jobs were lost from March to April.
Since February, nearly 74,000 jobs have been lost across the province.
The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board and the Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance, have issued the following statement:
“Today’s job numbers show that COVID-19 is having a real impact on communities and families right across the country. Since the beginning of this crisis, we have been focused on providing Canadians with the support they need as we work together to contain the spread of the virus and to keep Canadians safe.
That is why our government has taken unprecedented action to support Canadians and their families through this difficult time. We introduced the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy to help keep as many Canadians as possible working and connected to their employers. To help Canadians who have lost income due to COVID-19, we introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), which provides $2,000 a month to those who need it most. Along the way, we have worked to ensure this benefit reaches even more Canadians and reflects the different realities they face. To date, over 7 million Canadians have accessed the CERB.
Canadians should be confident that we will do whatever we can to ensure that their jobs are safe as we continue to fight the global COVID-19 outbreak. That’s why our government provided direct support to small businesses through the Canada Emergency Business Account and announced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance to help them cover their rent.
These initiatives, along with increases to the Canada Child Benefit and the GST credit, are quickly putting more money into the pockets of families when they need it most, and helping to set our economy up to come back even stronger.
As provinces and territories begin to lift restrictions and our government continues to take steps towards economic recovery, we will be there for Canadians. We will get through these challenging times together.”
