Manitoba’s unemployment rate fell just over one per cent in June, according to data from Statistics Canada.
Numbers from the agency’s monthly Labour Force Survey show Manitoba’s unemployment rate fell from 11.2 per cent in May to 10.1 per cent last month.
At a Friday morning press conference Manitoba Finance Minister Scott Fielding said the numbers show 28,900 Manitobans were either hired or rehired in June, and nearly 42,000 jobs have been created over the last two months.
That means more than 40 per cent of Manitobans who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 are now back to work, he added.
“The June job numbers report, we think is a very positive step in the right direction,” said Fielding.
“I do want to be perfectly clear, that we know that there are far too many Manitobans that will still be unemployed and need supports.”
Manitoba’s unemployment rate in June ranks second best among all Canadian province behind New Brunswick, which had a rate of 9.9 per cent last month, according to the survey.
Fielding said the survey shows Manitoba’s rate of employment among youth, was the lowest across Canada at 19.3 per cent.
Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities, including Winnipeg.
It cautions, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples.
The numbers show Winnipeg’s rate rose to 11.7 per cent in June from 10.3 per cent in May
At his press conference Fielding touted his government efforts to support Manitobans who have lost their jobs during the pandemic, including the Manitoba Jobs Restart program.
The program offers up to $2,000 in taxable money for those who return to the workplace — providing they give up the federal government’s Canada Emergency Response Benefit.
Fielding said 1,912 Manitobans have signed up for the program since it was announced June 23.
Manitoba has one of the lowest COVID-19 caseloads among the provinces. It has recorded 325 confirmed or probable cases since the pandemic started and, on Friday, marked 10 consecutive days without a new case. Seven people have died, 314 have recovered and four cases remained active.
The low numbers allowed the province to move fairly quickly to reopen businesses, in stages, through May and June. With restaurants and bars allowed to reopen, subject to some capacity limits, the accommodation and food services industries led the province’s job growth.
The Opposition New Democrats said the Progressive Conservative government should not take credit for the job numbers, and that they are a natural result of the low COVID-19 case count.
The NDP also accused the government of making the situation worse by temporarily laying off some public-sector workers and forcing others to take unpaid days off in order to soften the pandemic’s effect on Manitoba’s finances.
“Imagine if all those people didn’t lose their jobs or didn’t have their paycheques cut, we would be so much further as an economy,” finance critic Mark Wasyliw said.
Unemployment down nationally
Nationally Statistics Canada says the economy added nearly one million jobs in June as businesses forced closed by the COVID-19 pandemic began to reopen.
The agency says 953,000 jobs were added across the country last month, including 488,000 full-time and 465,000 part-time positions.
Canada’s unemployment rate fell to 12.3 per cent in June after hitting a record-high of 13.7 per cent in May.
The jobs report says there are still some 3.1 million people affected by the shutdowns of March and April when public health restrictions forced businesses to close and workers to stay at home to slow the spread of COVID-19.
About 2.5 million didn’t have jobs in June, either due to temporary or permanent layoffs, while the remainder are working less than half their usual hours.
The Bank of Canada and federal government say the worst of the economic pain from the pandemic is behind the country, but Canada will face high unemployment and low growth until 2021.
The economic outlook released by the Liberal government Wednesday forecast the unemployment rate to be 9.8 per cent for the calendar year, dropping to 7.8 per cent next year based on forecasts by 13 private sector economists.
–With files from The Canadian Press
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