Meagre job gains among women hurt Canada’s recovery

Bloomberg

Canada’s labour market is showing signs of strength after months of Covid-19 destruction, but weakness in the jobs market for women is holding back the pace of the recovery.
Recent labour market data show men are disproportionately benefiting from the phased reopening of the economy while women are struggling. In May, men recouped 14% of the nearly 1.5 million jobs they lost in March and April during the pandemic induced shutdown. That compares with just 5% recovery rate for the 1.5 million jobs women lost. Women were affected earlier by slowdown in economic activity to contain the Covid-19 spread, as service-sector and lower-wage positions were decimated.
The goods-producing sector accounted for a majority of jobs gained in May as male-dominated industries like manufacturing and construction were able to resume activity earlier than other businesses. Canada saw growth of nearly 165,000 jobs in goods-producing sectors in May versus a gain of about 125,000 jobs in service industries.
A second reason for the gender disparity is that women are having to stay home and care for their children while schools and daycares remain closed, according to economist Armine Yalnizyan.
Ontario, the largest province, has opted to leave public schools closed until the end of the academic year, which runs to the last week of June. Quebec has reopened schools in parts of the province but kept them closed in Montreal, the Canadian city with the largest number of coronvirus deaths.
Without safe protocols in place for kids to return to classrooms or care centers, parents often have no choice but to keep them at home for longer. This keeps more women out of the workforce longer, said Yalnizyan, a research fellow at the Atkinson Foundation.
May jobs figures released in Ottawa showing an unexpected gain of about 290,000 positions after two months of record losses also reveal childcare as a key limitation. About 94,000 Canadians who weren’t in the labour force but wanted work said they weren’t looking because of personal or family responsibilities — 80% of those were women.
“Without question, a limiting factor for women’s return to work is childcare,” Yalnizyan wrote in a presentation to lawmakers this week. “Simply put -– there will be no recovery without a she-covery; no
she-covery without childcare.”