COVID-19 labour market impacts on Indigenous and racialized workers in Canada
This report examines the racial and gender lines in Canada’s labour market during the most challenging period of the COVID-19 pandemic to date.
Racialized and Indigenous workers were more likely to become unemployed and be in jobs that put them in close proximity to others, increasing their risk of COVID-19 infection. Racialized and Indigenous workers were also more likely to live with economic insecurity compared to white workers. Female workers were at greater risk of exposure to COVID-19.
As well, A Disproportionate Burden offers a nuanced picture of Indigenous workers in the labour market during the pandemic. While recovery of Indigenous women’s employment has been much slower compared to non-Indigenous women, by June 2021, average employment for Indigenous women was slightly above the pre-pandemic level.
Nevertheless, the study shows that racialized and Indigenous workers borne a disproportionate burden of health and economic risks.
This report was funded by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF).
