The latest economic indicators from Statistics Canada show an increase of 12,400 in Manitoba’s employment from June to July as Manitoba continues on its roadmap to recovery and safely restart the economy.
“Our local and national economy is still progressing as we learn to live this virus,” Premier Brian Pallister said. “Thanks to the efforts of Manitobans, we continue to move forward with our balanced approach to restarting our economy and returning Manitobans back to work. I am pleased that over 60 per cent of Manitobans who lost employment due to COVID-19 are already back at work.”
Following feedback from Manitobans and guided by public health advice, the province carefully moved forward with phase four of Restoring Safe Services: Manitoba’s Pandemic and Economic Roadmap on July 23, the premier noted.
New labour force statistics show Manitoba continues to build on the success of the last three months in returning nearly two-thirds of Manitobans back to work. Total July employment in Manitoba increased by 12,400, a two per cent increase from June, where employment increased by a record 28,900.
In Manitoba, full-time employment was up 6,200, a 1.3 per cent increase, over double the national average. Part-time employment increased by 6,100, an increase of five per cent.
Overall, the provincial unemployment rate edged down to 8.2 per cent, the lowest in the country. The private sector, which includes the self-employed, increased 8,600, a 1.9 per cent gain from June to July.
Education services, and accommodation and food services saw the largest level changes in the same time period. Manitoba continues to lead the nation in youth employment.
“We have led the country with some of the most generous support programs to help Manitobans navigate and bounce back from this challenging time,” said Pallister. “From the beginning, we have targeted our COVID programs with a focus on getting Manitobans back to work and back up on their feet.”
As an additional support for Manitoba businesses, the government also announced today that it will be extending the Manitoba Gap Protection Program deadline for applications to Oct. 31 from Aug. 31. Businesses that are ineligible for federal support can also apply for an immediate $6,000 under this program, which has already provided more than $51 million in support to over 8,500 Manitoba businesses to help them restart their operations.
To date, the Manitoba Back to Work This Summer Program has provided nearly $10 million in supports so more than 650 private-sector employers could hire and rehire 1,955 employees. The Summer Student Job Recovery Program has encouraged more than 2,200 employers to apply for over $23 million in wage subsidies for more than 4,700 student positions. The Back to Work Manitoba program has received over 260 applications from employers for nearly 1,600 positions and over $7 million in supports.
Close to 4,500 individuals have applied for the Manitoba Job Restart Program for a total of nearly $9 million in financial support to return to work and voluntarily stop collecting the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB).
The Manitoba Bureau of Statistics has published its full July 2020 Labour Force Survey bulletin at gov.mb.ca.
