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Hello everyone who may be reading, in this Padlet, I will be talking to you about Economic Growth and Unemployment in Canada. I hope you enjoy!

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Expect around a 5% Increase in the Canadian GDP for 2021

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Expect around a 5% Increase in the Canadian GDP for 2021

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This video talks about what experts believe will happen in 2021 for economic growth. Based off of the growth in October and November of last year, experts believe there will be a 5% increase in the GDP of Canada. They state that with the rollout of vaccines and the picking up of construction and other services, this will allow growth in the economy, hopefully with an end to waves of lockdowns in provinces and territories.

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Expect around 5% Canadian GDP growth in 2021: Citi economist

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42% of Canadians believe in economic growth is coming

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42% of Canadians believe in economic growth is coming

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An exceptionally high amount of Canadians believe that the housing market will increase in the next few months with the reopening of Canada, up to 60%. With this increase in the housing market expecting to come, Canadians believe that there will be a great amount of economic growth coming within the next 6 months, around the time that most citizens will be vaccinated and when life can start getting back to normal.

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42% of Canadians think economy will get stronger in next 6 months: Nik Nanos

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After almost reaching an unemployment rate of 8% from the Pandemic (6% before the pandemic started), there is a strong belief that there will be a major bounce back of jobs coming in the near future. With the lifting restrictions on Bars, Restaurants, and other industries, companies will be looking to hire more and more people in the near future as the population becomes vaccinated and restrictions are slowly being lifted across Canada.

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Canada's jobs growth signals a quick rebound ahead for some hard hit sectors: Economist

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Ontario and Quebec hit the hardest in unemployment in Canada

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Ontario and Quebec hit the hardest in unemployment in Canada

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Unemployment from December to January went from 8.8%, to 9.4%, with over 200'000 jobs lost in those few months. This has led to worries that the constant lockdowns are erasing the progress that Ontario and Quebec have made in job recovery and economic growth. With a 3rd lockdown happening in the month of April, this downward trend of unemployment may not stop for another few months.

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Ontario, Quebec lead in job losses as unemployment rises to 9.4 per cent

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In the picture shown below, you can see the unemployment rate of Ontario at the beginning of the Pandemic. Rising to almost 14% in May of 2020, over double of what the unemployment rate was just 3 months prior.

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In this graph, you can see the level of the Canadian GDP before and during the Pandemic. The sharp drop indicating when the first lockdown in Canada happened, bringing our economy to a complete halt. This crash being as bad as the collapse in 2009.

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Canadians must keep investing to bring economic growth, says expert

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Canadians must keep investing to bring economic growth, says expert

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Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos states that in his experience with recessions and depressions, the biggest problem is citizens being under-prepared and under-investing. He has stated "That is a very unfortunate outcome because it means that we are then faced with higher unemployment, lower growth, lower living standards for Canadians and therefore lower taxes and greater deficits over the longer term."

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Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos says one lesson learned from recessions and depressions past is to veer away from under-investing in the economy as a crisis comes to an end.

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip much of the country - something Duclos himself didn't expect to see more than one year on - it's advice he's backing as the federal government maps out its economic recovery from the global public health emergency.

"There is unfortunately ... a tendency to under react, to be under prepared and to be under reactive ... to the challenges posed either by the health or economic crisis," the former economics professor said in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live.

"That is a very unfortunate outcome because it means that we are then faced with higher unemployment, lower growth, lower living standards for Canadians and therefore lower taxes and greater deficits over the longer term."

When the first federal budget in two years is presented later this month, it's expected to include details of Ottawa's three-year stimulus plan, which is valued between $70 billion and $100 billion and is intended to spark the country's post-pandemic recovery.

In a pre-budget outlook published last week, Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux said the temporary package could provide a "significant boost" to Canada's economy, but cautioned it could potentially result in "materially larger budget deficits."

Feds will support Canadians for 'as long as it takes'

The stimulus plan was not factored into the PBO's overall report due to a lack of details about the package. The spending watchdog projected the government would run a $363.4 billion deficit in the 2020-21 fiscal year - lower than the $381 billion figure Ottawa predicted last fall.

But the PBO noted the deficit should decrease in the years ahead - and projected employment would return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2021.

We are facing a third wave, which was both unexpected and certainly not the outcome we were hoping for... - Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos

When asked by CBC chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton whether pandemic support for Canadians should continue to be extended, Duclos said the government plans to help "for as long as it takes."

"Obviously, we are facing a third wave, which was both unexpected and certainly not the outcome we were hoping for at this time of the year. I think we all look forward to seeing the budget on the 19th of April," he said.

Variant-driven surge in cases

The PBO estimate was crafted with the assumption that a so-called "third wave" of COVID-19 cases and infections of coronavirus variants would not be severe, particularly as more Canadians get vaccinated.

In recent days, parts of Quebec have shut down amid a rise in cases, while Ontario imposed an "emergency brake" Saturday to curb the rapid spread of the virus. British Columbia, meanwhile, implemented three weeks of its own sweeping restrictions as variants of concern drive transmission of COVID-19.

The country surpassed one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 this weekend.

"I think we're going to see a rapidly increasing number of cases because of the variants' increased transmissibility," Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, said in a separate interview. "I think that's very concerning."

Russell cited "variants, vaccines and vigilance" as the three most critical factors that will determine how quickly Canada finds its way out of the pandemic.

"I would say go below the headlines and the sound bites to understand the numbers. The risks right now in every province is higher to get infected with COVID-19 and one of the variants," she said. "That risk is higher than any kind of a problem that you could have with any of the vaccines at this point in time."

WATCH | Critical time for vigilance, says Russell:

Vaccinations alone not enough, Duclos says

Duclos also appealed to Canadians to be "mindful and focus on the work that each of us needs to do in the next few critical weeks."

That includes refraining from any non-essential travel, regardless of someone's vaccination status.

"It's not the time to travel now and it's not the time to consider opening up our borders with any country, including the United States," Duclos said.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control declared last week that people who are fully vaccinated can travel within the country without requiring a COVID-19 test or needing to quarantine.

"Even in the United States, where vaccination is more advanced ... we're currently speaking of a fourth wave," Duclos said. "So that tells us that vaccination is not enough."

You can watch full episodes of Rosemary Barton Live on CBC Gem, the CBC's streaming service.

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Canada must continue investing in its economy to exit pandemic more quickly: Duclos | CBC News

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Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos says one lesson learned from recessions and depressions past is to veer away from under-investing in the economy as a crisis comes to an end.

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Canadian Economy added 1/4 million jobs in February

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Canadian Economy added 1/4 million jobs in February

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The Canadian economy added 259'000 jobs in the month of February, smashing all expectations, and bringing Canada closer to pre-Pandemic times. One year into the pandemic, the job market is almost 600'000 short of what the expectation would've been before the pandemic. With the unemployment rate reaching 8%, the increase of 1/4 million jobs is a step in the right direction in trying to get back to pre-Pandemic times.

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OTTAWA -- Canada's economy added 259,000 jobs last month, whipping past expectations to pull the country closer to pre-pandemic employment levels, with young women staring at the longest road to recovery.

One year into the pandemic, Canada's job market is 599,100 jobs short of where it was in February of last year, or 3.1 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

The shortfall is higher for young workers at 10.2 per cent, with young women between the ages of 15 and 24 the most affected group through this pandemic.

Statistics Canada said Friday that young women are down 181,000 jobs from February 2020, or off 14.1 per cent from pre-pandemic levels. For young men, the shortfall is 96,000, or 7.3 per cent.

The details add to the portrait of the pandemic's disproportionate economic impact on women, dubbed the "shecession," that the federal Liberals hope to address through a panel of experts that first met with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday.

"It reminds us that the shecession is not just mothers," said Vass Bednar, executive director of McMaster University's master of public policy program, and former chair of a federal expert panel on youth employment.

"There might be other reasons that women's jobs are either being eliminated, or that they need more support coming back to the labour market."

Ottawa has suggested it will use jobs as a gauge for planned stimulus measures to be unveiled in a spring budget.

While Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the gains good news for workers and their families, Conservative critic Pierre Poilievre warned the government can't yet pat itself on the back as he called for tax reform and other measures to get more people back to work.

The Bank of Canada is also monitoring employment data, noting the uneven impacts of job losses in its reasoning this week for holding its key interest rate target at 0.25 per cent.

Overall, the gain in February almost wiped out the 266,000 jobs lost over the previous two months, as lockdowns from December and January lifted in much of the country.

Almost all the job increases were among low-wage and part-time workers in areas like retail and accommodation.

The Conference Board of Canada noted the reopening of many retail outlets, mainly in Quebec and Ontario where lockdowns were particularly strict, brought back 122,300 jobs in February after losses of almost 168,000 jobs in January.

BMO chief economist Douglas Porter said similar gains could soon be seen in other hard-hit sectors like restaurants, hotels and entertainment if restrictions ease further.

"There is hope that as those sectors are eventually able to reopen, that we could recover quite quickly," Porter said, adding he expects another gain in March.

The gains blew past expectations and were reminiscent of the first wave of the pandemic when employment rebounded far faster than expected as the economy began reopening, CIBC senior economist Royce Mendes wrote in a note.

The national unemployment rate fell to 8.2 per cent, the lowest level since March 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rate would have been higher, 10.7 per cent, had Statistics Canada included in calculations Canadians who wanted to work but didn't search for a job.

The youth unemployment rate fell to 17.1 per cent in February, compared with the 10.4 per cent in the same month last year.

Typically, the youth unemployment rate is higher for men than women, but that trend has flipped during the pandemic, Statistics Canada said.

The agency noted that half of young women are employed in three highly affected sectors: accommodation, food services and retail.

"The higher unemployment rate is actually because of the labour market turbulence. It's not because of young women leaving the workforce by choice, for example, to go back to school," said Leah Nord, senior director of workforce strategies at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

Nord said the figures speak to an urgent need for focused training programs so young workers can gain new skills, and improve what they already have.

Bryn de Chastelain, chair of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, said the federal government should expand a key summer jobs program to help students cover tuition and earn experience in troubled job market.

"Students are not feeling that they're going to have an opportunity to get valuable work experience in their field of study and start to build the skills that they need in order to start a career," said de Chastelain, a graduating student at Saint Mary's University.

Employers may have to relax the premium they place on experience when hiring a young person, or shift their perspective to include things like volunteering, as many may now have experience gaps in formal employment, Bednar said.

"People might not be able to get that first job as easily as before and it's really agitating for a generation of workers that is already set to fare worse than the generation before them," she said.

A quick look at Canada's February employment (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

Unemployment rate: 8.2 per cent (9.4)

Employment rate: 59.4 per cent (58.6)

Participation rate: 64.7 per cent (64.7)

Number unemployed: 1,665,100 (1,899,000)

Number working: 18,531,200 (18,272,000)

Youth (15-24 years) unemployment rate: 17.1 per cent (19.7)

Men (25 plus) unemployment rate: 6.9 per cent (7.6)

Women (25 plus) unemployment rate: 6.7 per cent (8.0)

Here are the jobless rates last month by province (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

Newfoundland and Labrador 15.3 per cent (12.8)

Prince Edward Island 9.2 per cent (7.9)

Nova Scotia 8.1 per cent (8.3)

New Brunswick 8.9 per cent (8.8)

Quebec 6.4 per cent (8.8)

Ontario 9.2 per cent (10.2)

Manitoba 6.8 per cent (8.0)

Saskatchewan 7.3 per cent (7.2)

Alberta 9.9 per cent (10.7)

British Columbia 6.9 per cent (8.0)

Statistics Canada also released seasonally adjusted, three-month moving average unemployment rates for major cities. It cautions, however, that the figures may fluctuate widely because they are based on small statistical samples. Here are the jobless rates last month by city (numbers from the previous month in brackets):

St. John's, N.L. 9.4 per cent (8.8)

Halifax 8.1 per cent (7.5)

Moncton, N.B. 9.2 per cent (9.2)

Saint John, N.B. 12.2 per cent (12.1)

Saguenay, Que. 5.9 per cent (6.3)

Quebec City 5.0 per cent (4.7)

Sherbrooke, Que. 6.2 per cent (6.2)

Trois-Rivieres, Que. 6.7 per cent (6.8)

Montreal 8.2 per cent (8.5)

Gatineau, Que. 7.6 per cent (7.3)

Ottawa 6.1 per cent (6.5)

Kingston, Ont. 7.3 per cent (6.5)

Peterborough, Ont. 12.5 per cent (12.8)

Oshawa, Ont. 8.0 per cent (8.4)

Toronto 11.1 per cent (11.1)

Hamilton, Ont. 7.1 per cent (6.8)

St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont. 12.4 per cent (11.5)

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Ont. 7.8 per cent (8.3)

Brantford, Ont. 7.6 per cent (6.9)

Guelph, Ont. 7.8 per cent (6.3)

London, Ont. 6.9 per cent (7.7)

Windsor, Ont. 10.7 per cent (10.3)

Barrie, Ont. 13.0 per cent (14.2)

Greater Sudbury, Ont. 8.7 per cent (7.9)

Thunder Bay, Ont. 8.3 per cent (8.4)

Winnipeg 8.3 per cent (8.8)

Regina 8.5 per cent (7.6)

Saskatoon 8.4 per cent (8.6)

Calgary 10.6 per cent (10.6)

Edmonton 11.6 per cent (11.9)

Kelowna, B.C. 5.2 per cent (4.6)

Abbotsford-Mission, B.C. 7.4 per cent (7.8)

Vancouver 7.9 per cent (7.8)

Victoria 4.9 per cent (5.0)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2021.

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Statistics Canada's offices at Tunny's Pasture in Ottawa are shown on Friday, March 8, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

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Economy blows past expectations, adds 259,000 jobs in February

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OTTAWA -- Canada's economy added 259,000 jobs last month, whipping past expectations to pull the country closer to pre-pandemic employment levels, with young women staring at the longest road to recovery. One year into the pandemic, Canada's job market is 599,100 jobs short of where it was in February of last year, or 3.1 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

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Unemployment is effecting young Canadians the hardest

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Unemployment is effecting young Canadians the hardest

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With the Pandemic, many people have lost their jobs due to lockdowns and restrictions. But it may be having the biggest impact on young Canadians. Around 30% of young Canadians are currently unemployed due to the Pandemic. This spike in job loss has caused a big increase in mental health issues such as Depression, Loneliness, as well as feelings of severe Anxiety. 27% have admitted to binge drinking as a result of the massive spike of unemployment.

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While the pandemic has been ruthless to many different industries and countless Canadians have lost their jobs over the last 12 months, it has been especially hard on younger Canadians.

According to Statistics Canada, 30 per cent of young Canadians are currently unemployed.

"Yes, the pandemic has taken its toll on all of us, but young people are being hit especially hard. The challenge for young Canadians isn't about a lack of talent, ability, or motivation. It's about a lack of opportunity," Neil McLaughlin, group head of Personal and Commercial Banking for RBC, said in a news release.

Additionally, many young Canadians are having to deal with unemployment in addition to other struggles they are already facing--according to a recent study from the Canadian Mental Health Association, 27 per cent of respondents ages 18 and older reported frequent binge drinking, while 23 per cent reported experiencing feelings of loneliness, 19 per cent reported experiencing moderate to severe anxiety, and 18 per cent reported feeling depressed.

"These are concerning figures. Young people don't have sufficient access to the mental well-being supports and services they need," McLaughlin continued.

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Many young Canadians dealing with unemployment in addition to mental health challenges

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While the pandemic has been ruthless to many different industries and countless Canadians have lost their jobs over the last 12 months, it has been especially hard on younger Canadians.According to Statistics Canada, 30 per cent of young Canadians are currently unemployed.

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Canada's Economy ready to explode after Pandemic

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Canada's Economy ready to explode after Pandemic

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With a third wave coming in Canada, it may seem like Canada is going nowhere when it comes to growth after the Pandemic, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 17'000 new businesses with at least 1 employee have been created in December of 2020, the highest monthly increase in 5 years. With the opening of new and old businesses, employers will be searching for new employees for when the Pandemic is over, and this will cause a massive spike in the Canadian economy and decline in unemployment.

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As the third pandemic wave starts to hit, some good news: The Canadian economy is in unexpectedly solid shape.

There is still a lot of pain and job loss out there, and this week's new round of shutdowns and lockdowns promise more. But reasons for optimism abound.

On Monday, Statistics Canada reported that almost 17,000 new businesses with at least one worker were created in December. That's higher than the monthly average of 15,725 in the five years before the pandemic. Last October and November were also above average. It's a sign that Canadians have confidence in the future, and, despite all the upheaval of the past year, they are seeing opportunities and taking risks.

On Wednesday came more evidence of an economy that, throughout the winter, was coming back to life stronger than predicted. In January, the economy grew faster than anticipated, and February looks to have been positive as well. April will be a painful speed bump, but annualized growth in the first quarter is likely to clock in at more than 5 per cent.

It stands in stark contrast to expectations that 2021 would open with three months of contraction. The Conference Board of Canada this week forecast full-year 2021 growth of almost 6 per cent.

The economy is only down about 2 per cent from its prepandemic peak, after a dizzying drop of 18 per cent during the worst of last year's shutdowns, according to National Bank. This unique recession, driven by a natural disaster, has been nothing like past downturns. Last spring's contraction was sharper and deeper than the recessions of the 1980s, '90s and 2000s, but the recovery has been much faster.

Canada's economy has fared surprisingly well in recent months, despite continuing pandemic restrictions. It suggests that this month's new round of temporary restrictions, though they will bite, can be weathered. The basic econo-pandemic equation, however, remains the same as ever: Economic health depends on public health. The faster Canada drives COVID-19 cases down, the more the economy can reopen and recover. And with vaccinations ramping up, a full recovery is in our future.

That's the good news. There's also some less good.

A key figure to watch is the employment rate - the share of the working-age population that is employed. About 80 per cent of jobs lost during the pandemic have been recovered, leaving 600,000 fewer Canadians working than when the pandemic started. And even that large number understates the gravity of the situation. Taking Canada's growing population into account, the country is in fact short 764,000 jobs, compared with early 2020. The Parliamentary Budget Officer expects the unemployment rate to remain above the prepandemic 2019 rate of 5.7 per cent until 2023.

Long-term joblessness is also a worry. The number of Canadians out of work for more than six months has been between 1.4 million and 1.6 million since last May. That's about two-thirds more than when the pandemic started.

Other issues include the struggles of "lockdown industries," from tourism to restaurants. While employment elsewhere has almost fully recovered, lockdown industry employment is down 17 per cent. The hardest hit are lower-wage workers. The sooner the pandemic is put down, the sooner those jobs will return. There should be ample demand when the economy reopens, as Canadians have piled up savings.

And speaking of growing demand, Canada may get a big boost from south of the border, destination for three-quarters of this country's exports. The United States is well ahead of Canada in vaccinations, with every day bringing an enduring reopening closer. What's more, the Biden administration is delivering US$1.9-trillion of stimulus and on Wednesday outlined US$2-trillion of infrastructure and other spending. The Federal Reserve last month estimated U.S. GDP would surge 6.5 per cent in 2021, far better than the 4.2 per cent it predicted last December.

The Bank of Canada has said that exceptionally lenient monetary conditions, including ultralow interest rates, will remain until the recovery is well under way. It's the same approach as the Fed, and it is necessary - even if it is helping to fuel a housing-price explosion.

Put it all together and signs are that the Canadian economy is poised to come out of this pandemic at a gallop. The X-factor, as always, is the virus. The economy may be spring-loaded, but it can't bounce back until the pandemic is beaten.
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Globe editorial: Canada's economy is spring-loaded for take-off - just as soon as we beat the pandemic

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As the third pandemic wave starts to hit, some good news: The Canadian economy is in unexpectedly solid shape. There is still a lot of pain and job loss out there, and this week's new round of shutdowns and lockdowns promise more. But reasons for optimism abound.

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The biggest thing that I learned about this topic is that the Pandemic has done a lot to the Canadian economy in relation to unemployment and the GDP of Canada. Last year in March, the economy of the world basically was put to a grinding halt with the increase of COVID. Small businesses have been hurt big time because of these lockdowns. Big businesses like Walmart and Amazon have been able to thrive in this Pandemic, while mom and pop shops have been forced to close down because of the restrictions.

A real life example of this Pandemic effecting small businesses is with my family's business. My dad owns and runs a pool store, and honestly, this pandemic is probably the best thing that could've happened for us. My family had a record year financially and we are already booking pool construction for 2022. Although my dad's company has done great, other family's have suffered greatly. I am friends with a couple of Oshawa Generals players, and they have been waiting around for the past year waiting for a season to start, if one ever does. As well as the NHL, MLB, and NBA losing billions of dollars because of not being able to have fans in the stands.

I think the most important thing that I could pass on to a family member or friend is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The past year has been tough for a lot of people, and easy for some. But things will get better. It may not be tomorrow, next month, or in 3 months, but things will return to normal and we can pretend this disaster never happened. We will look back on this 10 years from now and laugh at the last 12 months that has happened.