Construction lost 45,400 jobs in January

TORONTO — Canada’s construction sector lost 45,400 jobs in January, representing almost 20 per cent of the country’s job losses in the month.

The ADP Canada National Employment Report released Feb. 18 calculates that Canada’s total labour force decreased by 231,200 jobs. The construction losses represent 19.63 per cent of that total.

The report is a monthly measure of the change in total Canadian non-farm payroll employment derived from payroll data of client companies served by ADP Canada and measures more than two million workers in Canada.  

Other sectors losing jobs during lockdown conditions in January included manufacturing, down 17,900 workers; natural resources and mining, minus 1,700 jobs; trade, transportation and utilities, down 62,600 jobs; information, minus 3,100; finance and real estate, minus 5,900; professional and business services, down 17,500; education and health care, minus 11,400; and leisure and hospitality, down 55,100.

The job losses were the most since the May 2020 lockdown period said Nela Richardson, chief economist for ADP.

“The surge in COVID-19 cases and public health restrictions resulted in mass layoffs. Job losses were reported in every sector, led by trade; transportation and utilities; leisure and hospitality; and construction,” said Richardson.

In December, 338,200 jobs were added nationally, according to ADP.