COVID-19 and labor issues: An assessment

Abstract

Canada's unemployment rate increased rapidly in the spring of 2020 in response to strict public health measures. Low-wage workers were hit particularly hard, including restaurant workers. The production and distribution of food being essential and agri-food supply chains being resilient, other workers in the agri-food sector were less impacted by public health measures and the pandemic. Employment in grocery stores remained steady and employment of agricultural workers, including temporary foreign workers, proved more robust than expected. Dealing with contaminated workers proved challenging in meat processing plants. Temporary plant shutdowns and slowdowns created livestock queuing problems and temporary increases in meat prices. The federal and provincial governments implemented several programs to mitigate the pandemic's adverse effects on labor markets. The pandemic will have permanent effect on labor markets, but with unemployment rates falling rapidly across Canada, recruiting and retention remain the main labor issues in agriculture.