By: Thomas I. Likness
EBC Edmonton Bureau

EDMONTON (Eagle News) — The economic health of Canada has fallen victim to the COVID-19 virus according to Statistics Canada in its latest Labour Force Survey released Thursday.

StatsCan said 1.3 million jobs were lost in March while those who worked less than half their usual hours increase by 800,000.

The unemployment rate for the country jumped 2.2% to 7.8%. The jobless rate has not been at that level since October 2010.

Most of the job losses were borne by people aged 15 to 25. More women were unemployed than men.

The accommodation and food services industries were the hardest hit due to government measures including states of emergency, restrictions on certain business activities and limits on the travel of non-residents into the country.

Reacting to these numbers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said they were no surprise.

He reiterated that his government will continue to provide help for those out of work because of the pandemic.

“We’ve all seen the impact of COVID-19,” said Trudeau. “We all knew that this was going to be a tough time and that countries around the world are in a similar situation.”

“That’s no comfort if you’re out of a job, having difficulty making ends meet,” he added. “You need real support, so we’re doing our best to help you bridge to better times.”

Although the Canada Emergency Benefit Fund provides help for four months, Trudeau hints it could be extended.

“We knew that our best chance of rebounding from this strongly and getting back to the extraordinary successful country and economy that we’ve built over so many generations is to ensure that Canadians are supported through this however long it takes.”

Projections from the Public Health Agency of Canada suggest the pandemic could linger on for a year or more.

Trudeau has also said there will be various measures in place for that long, until a vaccine is developed.

It’s expected the unemployment rate will continue to rise as the infection rate increases.

(Eagle News Service)