Two-thirds of Canadians confident they can bounce back after pandemic: survey

While the COVID-19 pandemic has dented Canadians’ outlook on employment, many are still confident in their ability to bounce back quickly as the economy reopens with the “new normal.”

That’s the finding of a survey looking at how governments and employers can prepare for the restarting of the economy by the Environics Institute, in partnership with the Future Skills Centre and Ryerson University’s Diversity Institute.

Almost two-thirds (63 per cent) of Canadians are confident in their abilities, compared to 61 per cent before the pandemic, found the surveys of 5,000 adults (roughly 2,900 before the pandemic, 2,100 after it began).

More than half (54 per cent) feel they can bounce back quickly after hard times, compared to 51 per cent before effects on jobs were felt.

More than six in 10 (65 per cent) feel it is likely they will receive government support if they lose their job during the pandemic, compared to 61 per cent previously.

However, confidence is greater among those with higher levels of education and income, with less secure workers less certain they can access the resources they need to weather the pandemic’s employment storm, found Environics.

Workers aged 25 to 34 (56 per cent) are more likely to be worried about job security compared to their 55-years-old or older peers (40 per cent), and women (44 per cent) are more likely than men (35 per cent) to say that now is a bad time to find a job where they live.

Training lacking

Workers say skills training contributes to their ability to succeed. However, 51 per cent of the labour force has had no employer-delivered skills training in the last five years.

Low-income workers are less likely to have received this type of training (42 per cent) compared to high earners (63 per cent), and workers aged 55 and up receiving less training (36 per cent) than their 25- to 54-year-old peers (52 per cent).

Following a drop of over one million in March, employment fell by nearly two million in April, according to Statistics Canada.