About 11,600 people are without work as P.E.I.’s unemployment rate has grown to 13.9 per cent as of May.
In the latest labour force survey from Statistics Canada, P.E.I. saw its unemployment rate grow 3.1 percentage points in the last month, from 10.8 per cent. The increasing unemployment is almost certainly due to the public health restrictions due to the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic.
The province’s unemployment rate was eight per cent in February, prior to the start of the pandemic.
The survey was conducted between May 10 and 16, which coincided with Phase II of the Island’s reopening plan. Some businesses had reopened, but retail outlets and restaurants at that time remained closed.
However, the total number of people employment rose by 2,600 between April and May arresting a steady drop in the ranks of the province’s labour force since February.
The rise in unemployment on P.E.I. has had the most drastic impact on women. Between May 2019 and May 2020, the number of unemployed women over 25 years of age jumped 178.9 per cent, while the ranks of unemployed men rose only five per cent during the same time period.
This may be due to job losses seen in more feminized sectors of the workforce such as accommodation and food services, retail or in other areas of the service sector.
