Labour market

The interaction between people available and looking for work and those seeking to find persons willing to work at the market wage rate.

Labour Market conditions in Peel worsened in the first quarter of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 induced economic shutdown which started in the second week of March.

In response, many Peel residents left the labour market (decline in labour force) while others lost employment opportunities (decline in employment) as follows:

• The number of Peel residents who were in the labour market working  or searching for work (labour force) decreased by 2.6 per cent, all from the youth (15 – 24 years) segment of the market;
• The number of residents who were working (employment) decreased by 0.6 per cent; and
• The decline in employment affected youth (15 – 64 years) and seniors (65+ years).

Employment rate

Employment rate is the number of employed persons in a particular age group expressed as a percentage of the population in that age group.

Peel’s quarterly average employment for adults 15 years and over, and 25 years and over, declined in the first quarter of 2020.

There was a relatively sharp decline in the employment rate for youth (15 – 24 years) as many in that age cohort are likely to be in part-time and temperory positions, who lost jobs or left the labour market following the COVID-19 economic shutdown.

Participation rate

Participation rate is the total labour force in a particular age group, expressed as a percentage of the population in that age group.

• Peel’s overall quarterly average participation rate for adults, 15 years and over declined in the first quarter of 2020.
• The rate for youth (15 - 24 years) declined sharply from 50.3 to 43.7 per cent, whereas that for the core age group (25 years and over) declined slightly from 63.3 to 62.9 per cent.
• The shock to the youth segment of the labour market was more pronounced and with a deterioration in labour market conditions, many withdrew from the labour market, resulting in a decline in the participation rate.

Employment by sector

27, 500 positions were lost in the goods-producing sector in the first quarter of 2020, which amounts to a net 15.4 per cent decline in employment in the goods producing sector, extending the long-term shift in Peel’s labour market towards the service sector.

Lower employment in goods producing was mainly the result of a decline of 19,600 jobs in the manufacturing sector (-15.7 per cent) and 10,100 jobs in the construction sector (-20.0 per cent).

Employment in the service sector increased by 3.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2020. Higher employment in finance, insurance, real estate and leasing (30.0 per cent) and trade (8.7 per cent) outweighed the declines in some service sub-sectors such as accommodation and food services (-29.2 per cent) and educational services (-22.8 per cent).

Employment by type

Early impact of the economic shutdown in Peel was completely on part-time employment, which has been increasing in recent years.

This suggests that part-time employees were the first type of workers that were laid off (in March) due to business closures associated with the shutdown

Full-time employment increased by 5.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, while part-time employment fell by 24.4 per cent.

More widespread declines in both full-time and part-time employment are likely in upcoming quarters when the full impact of the COVID-19 shutdown is reflected in all three months of the quarter – not one month as in the first quarter (January – March) of 2020.