Long-term UnemploymentThe number of people unemployed for 27 weeks or more increased to 486,000 (+21,000; +4.6%) in April. Statcan says this reflects "the continued flow into this category of those who lost jobs in the spring, summer and fall of 2020 and who have remained unemployed since. Among the long-term unemployed, 312,000 had been without work for 52 weeks or more as of April." Statcan makes a really pathetic comment reflecting the inability, or rather the unwillingness, of the ruling elite to solve the problems in the economy. It writes, "Long-term unemployment is a key indicator of mismatches between labour supply and demand, as workers who lose jobs in some occupations may face difficulties finding work in the same or related fields. Compared with February 2020, the number of long-term unemployed was up by 171.3 per cent in April."
Statcan continues, "For individuals, being unemployed for extended periods may be associated with a range of adverse effects, including health impacts, difficulty returning to work and delays in acquiring work experience. From February 2020 to April 2021, long-term unemployment increased in all major demographic groups, including core-aged men (+116,000; +223.2%) and women (+79,000; +176.6%). Among those aged 55 and older, long-term unemployment increased by 33,000 (+102.8%) for men and by 40,000 (+195.6%) for women. "The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in larger increases in long-term unemployment among young men (+32,000; +185.3%) than young women (+8,000; +61.4%). This reflects the fact that labour force participation for male youth is similar to its pre-COVID level (64.3% in February 2020, compared with 63.6% in April 2021), with young men generally responding to employment losses by looking for new work. In contrast, labour force participation among female youth declined by 3.9 percentage points from February 2020 (65.3%) to April 2021 (61.4%), with a net drop of 91,000 in the number of young women participating in the labour market."
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The
"mismatch between labour supply and demand" is a factor that keeps the
working class divided and weak as it competes for the available work.
The "mismatch" strengthens the hand of employers in their class
struggle to refuse wage increases and better working conditions or to
resolve issues related to workers' health and safety, which have
become a flashpoint during the COVID-19 pandemic.