Unemployment drops to 9 per cent.

The unemployment rate fell to 10.9 per cent, down from 12.3 per cent in June.

RBC said women are being hardest hit because they tend to work in industries, such as hospitality and food services, most affected by layoffs.

The poll, commissioned by TD Bank, was conducted online between April 20 and May 6 and talked to 936 Canadians.

The agency says it recognizes that the social, economic and labour market impacts of COVID-19 have not been equally felt by all Canadians.

That depends on a mix of economic, consumer behavior, public health and public policy factors, economists say.

As U.S. President Donald Trump leads a U.S. charge towards reopening shuttered businesses and easing stay-at-home orders, to the chagrin of nervous public health officials, Canada is taking a dramatically different go-slow approach.

Total losses since the pandemic-driven lockdown began have reached three million, the agency said.

The government is relying on people applying for the emergency cash to answer "honestly" and will verify claims later, the federal employment minister said.

The number of claims appears to have nearly doubled over the weekend.