The second wave of COVID-19 is costing Quebec jobs, according to the latest findings by the Institut du Québec (IDQ).
The survey, conducted in October 2020, identified 207,000 people currently out of work because of the latest COVID-19 confinement measures, compared to 140,000 who were out of work seven months ago.
The study found Quebec’s hotel and food-service sectors were the hardest hit, losing nearly 42,000 jobs, or 19 per cent of the workforce in September 2020 alone, representing nearly two-thirds of all jobs lost in the province.
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The culture and recreation sectors are also struggling, according to the findings.
Less-educated workers have been hit the hardest and their employment prospects remain highly volatile, the study found.
The IDQ study observed that the unemployment rate of immigrants remains higher than that of people born in Canada.
The Montreal area is, however, faring better than the rest of the province, recovering 99 per cent of jobs lost since February 2020, compared to 95 per cent for the rest of Quebec.
The findings, according to data drawn from Statistics Canada, puts Quebec fifth among Canadian provinces in terms of job recovery, behind the four Atlantic provinces.
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