Pandemic measures expose work-from-home inequality, says Statistics Canada
Posted June 8, 2020 12:11 pm.
Last Updated June 8, 2020 1:21 pm.
Statistics Canada says that women, people with higher earnings and those with more education are more likely to be able to work from home and therefore less likely to suffer a loss of income due to measures to limit spread of COVID-19 .
In a report on employment inequality, it says Canadians who can work from home, like those in essential services and those whose jobs allow physical distancing, are much less likely to have been laid off or have their hours reduced since the pandemic began.
The agency says about 40 per cent of Canadians are in jobs that can be done from home and those jobs will continue to be attractive for their work-life balance options even after the pandemic is over.
It says about 50 per cent of single women can work from home, compared with about one third of single men, while 62 per cent of women in dual-income families hold jobs that can be done from home, compared with 38 per cent for men.
The report finds the feasibility of working from home rises with income. It says in 54 per cent of the dual-earner families who are in the top 10 per cent by earnings that both partners hold jobs that can be done from home. The corresponding percentage for dual-earner families who are the bottom decile is only eight per cent.
Statistics Canada also finds that while less than 30 per cent of primary earners with a high school diploma can work from home, roughly two-thirds of their counterparts with at least a bachelor’s degree could do so.
“On balance, households with lower levels of education and earnings are the least likely to hold jobs that can be done from home,” the report says.
“This finding suggests that the risk of experiencing a work interruption during the pandemic might fall disproportionately on financially vulnerable families. If so, these work interruptions will likely increase family earnings inequality, at least during the pandemic and economic recovery.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 8, 2020.
The Canadian Press
