The second wave of COVID-19 is costing thousands of Quebecers their jobs.
The latest study by the Institut du Québec (IDQ) conducted in October 2020, shows that 207,000 Quebecers are currently out of work due to the second wave of COVID-19—a huge increase when compared to 140,000 who were out of work seven months ago.
According to the results, Quebec’s hotel and food-service sectors were the hardest hit, losing nearly 42,000 jobs and roughly 19 per cent of the workforce in September 2020 alone.
The IDQ says the service sector represents roughly two-thirds of all jobs lost in the province. The culture and recreation sectors are also struggling, and unsurprisingly, less-educated workers struggle the most as their employment prospects remain highly volatile.
The study also determined that employment levels in the Montreal area had almost returned to their pre-outbreak status recorded last February, with the region recovering 99 per cent of jobs lost since February 2020, compared to 95 per cent for the rest of Quebec.
According to figures compiled by Statistics Canada, Quebec ranks fifth behind the four Atlantic provinces in employhment recovery.