April and May could have been nadir for job loss: DesRosiers

The pandemic has cost many Canadians their jobs. In the automotive world, new car dealerships were particularly hard hit in April, with employment down by more than 60,000 or 38% from 2019.

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants reports the high profile motor vehicle manufacturing industry witnessed employment fall an average of 20.5% in the first half of 2020, and as much as 30.7% in May.

The aftermarket too did not escape with automotive repair and maintenance shops down 24.5% in April (losing over 27,000 jobs) while auto parts and accessories stores fell 19.4%.

“April and May look to have been the nadir of the downturn” said Andrew King, managing partner at DesRosiers.

June definitely marked a step forward terms of employment with the industry gaining back over 69,000 positions over May but remaining well below 2019 levels.

Statistics Canada reported last week that unemployment fell 0.7% in August to 10.2%, which is a marked improvement compared to a record level 13.7% set in May 2020.

The Canadian unemployment rate was as high as 13.7% in May, which is an all-time record. The number of people employed in Canada is now within 1.1 million of the pre-Covid-19 February level. StatsCan stresses it is important to remember that during the last recession (2008-2009), it took almost nine years for unemployment to return to its pre-recession rate.

www.desrosiers.ca