12,000 more Hamilton-area workers unemployed compared to pre-pandemic levels, analysis shows
Young workers continue to face the highest unemployment rate in Hamilton throughout the pandemic, among a total of 12,000 more people out of work compared to pre-COVID-19 levels, according to a new report from the Social Planning and Research Council (SPRC) of Hamilton.
The SPRC's analysis - which captures Burlington and Grimsby as part of Hamilton's census catchment area - found that workers aged 15 to 24 had a 13.5 per cent unemployment rate as of last month. The 25 to 44 age group is seeing more than double its pre-pandemic unemployment rate, now at 7.1 per cent in Hamilton, per Statistics Canada data.
The report noted an encouraging recovery of jobs among women, on par with that of men, after a net loss of 20,200 jobs among women in June 2020.
More than half of the province's adults have at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, the Ministry of Health announced Wednesday, touting that hot spot communities are not seeing a higher vaccine rate than non-hot spots.
Still, the SPRC data found that when it comes to contracting COVID-19, neighbourhoods with a larger proportion of workers in health, sales and service, and manufacturing had higher infection rates compared to other areas of the city.
That's very much related to housing, more than anything else, and obviously, the wages that people are paid," said Sara Mayo, a social planner at SPRC and co-author of the report.
She added that the neighbourhood and occupation data is an approximate analysis given that one neighbourhood would be home to a variety of workers.
But the analysis did find a trend where we see the highest rates of COVID in Hamilton have been neighbourhoods with the highest rates of workers in the health care-occupation," Mayo said, at a rate of 3,413 cases per 100,000 residents.
This was followed by other essential work sectors, including sales and service workers, at 3,252 cases per 100,000 population, well above Hamilton's average COVID-19 infection rate of 2,819 cases per 100,000. The rates were assessed based on data provided by the city's public health department and census data.
Vjosa Isai is a reporter at The Spectator covering Hamilton-based business. Reach her via email: visai@thespec.com.