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Decline of women in the labor market

Alain DumasAlain Dumas, March 2021

The pandemic has exposed not only economic inequalities, but also the growing disparities between men and women in the labor market. If, in the past, crises affected men more than women, the opposite is true in the current crisis.

As shown in Table 1, the decline in employment between February 2020 (before the crisis) and January 2021 was greater for women than for men, both in Canada (-5.7% vs. -4.0 %) than in Quebec (-7.1% versus -4.6%). In numbers, women have suffered 58% of job losses in Canada and Quebec since the start of the pandemic.

The finding is even more devastating among young women (15-24 years old), where the drop in employment was much greater than among young men, both in Canada (-19.7% versus -12.9%) than in Quebec (-23.7% versus -19.5%), between February 2020 and January 2021.

Table 1: Variation in employment by sex

Source: Statistics Canada, Labor Force Survey, January 2021.

More precarious jobs

If women are more affected than men in terms of employment, it is because they occupy a greater place in sectors strongly affected by the crisis, such as shops, restaurants and hotels, which are characterized by part-time, low-wage jobs.

Since the start of the pandemic, part-time jobs have represented 95% of job losses in Quebec. And since a quarter of women work part-time (compared to 16% for men) and 75% of part-time job losses concern women, this decline therefore reflects an increased precariousness of already precarious jobs for women. .

This situation is all the more worrying given that recent figures for 2021 show an even greater deterioration in employment for women than for men. For example, part-time job losses of young men have been offset by an increase in full-time employment, while young women lose out in both categories.

Historic decline in female participation

The unemployment situation among women casts another shadow on the picture of female employment. Looking at the official unemployment statistics for January (see Table 2), one would be led to believe that the situation is better for women than for men, given that the unemployment rate official of women (8.6%) is lower than that of men (9%).

Table 2: Unemployment rates in Quebec, January 2021

Source: Statistics Canada, Labor Force Survey, January 2021.

However, this gap hides a deterioration in the participation of women in the labor market. To be considered officially unemployed, the person concerned must actively seek employment. However, women’s employment prospects have been so much more depressed for months, that many of them have simply stopped looking. actively a job. They were therefore removed from the number of unemployed women official, hence the mechanical drop in their rate unemployment official.

Aware of this situation, Statistics Canada calculates an unemployment rate adjusted, which gives a more accurate picture of real unemployment. To achieve this, we take into account unemployed people who are not looking for work, but who want to work, as well as people who work less than half of their usual hours, for reasons related to the health crisis. This adjustment completely changes the picture of unemployment for the people concerned, and more particularly for women. Unlike the rate official which places them in an advantageous situation, women see their unemployment rate adjusted at 11.3%, which is higher than that of men which stands at 9.8%.

This adjustment in the unemployment rate reflects an increased deterioration in female participation in the labor market. In fact, since the start of the pandemic, nearly 50,000 women have ceased to be actives in Quebec, which is much higher than the drop of 10,000 for men. This decline is so strong that the participation rate of women in the labor market is at its lowest for thirty years.

This disturbing portrait of the place of women in the labor market justifies vigorous action on the part of governments. All the studies show that the longer the exclusion from the labor market lasts, the more the people concerned are downqualified, which makes their reintegration into employment even more difficult. This observation is all the more true as the labor market will undergo significant transformations after the current crisis. Specific measures must therefore be taken quickly: on the one hand, by ensuring constant financial support, and on the other hand, by offering specific training which promotes the renewal of professional qualifications.

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