The construction workforce has yet to recover from major job losses earlier in the pandemic
Canada’s construction industry shed 15,900 jobs in May, with public health restrictions in Ontario putting a halt to many non-essential construction projects largely to blame for the decline, Statistics Canada said June 4.
The federal agency’s latest Labour Force Survey shows the industry’s workforce dropped to 1.439 million last month, down just over one per cent from April.
The job losses in construction outpaced job losses in the wider Canadian economy. Across all industries, employment slipped 0.4 per cent. Statistics Canada again pointed to the Ontario COVID-19 restrictions for the losses, as well as to tighter rules in Alberta and Manitoba.
With the decline in May, construction employment is roughly 55,000 jobs, or 3.7 per cent, below its pre-pandemic level.
