Economics
Monster Job Losses Force Canada to Confront Scale of Crisis
- Economy barrels toward recession after 500,000 spike in claims
- ‘No silver bullet,’ Trudeau says, warning of long road ahead
A security agent at Pearson airport in Toronto on March 16.
Photographer: Cole Burston/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The historic response to Canada’s economic crisis by Justin Trudeau’s government is only just beginning.
A half-million jobless claims filed last week, representing 2.5% of the labor force, is a shocking signal of how deep a rut Canada’s economy is in as entire industries shut down in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The new worry is Covid-19 could spread through remote barracks-like camps that house oil workers, adding another blow to a key sector.