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4.7-million more Canadians now working from home: Stats Canada

Apr 17, 2020 | 11:05 AM

OTTAWA, ONT – A new report from Statistics Canada shows a massive surge in Canadians who have shifted their place of work to their own home.

During the period of March 22-28, they claim that 4.7-million people who do not usually work from home did so.

When you factor in those who typically work on their home office, that number rises to 6.8-million, or approximately 40 per cent of the overall labour force.

Of those who only recently started working from home, Stats Canada says they are far more likely to have a higher level of education.

58.4 per cent had a bachelor’s degree or higher, 31.1 per cent had a post-secondary education below a bachelor’s level, while the remaining 10.5 per cent had a high school education or less.

Just under four-in-10 workers who have adapted to a home work environment live with a child under the age of 18 and experienced new challenges in balancing work and family life. However, Stats Canada states that these employees reported better levels of mental health than the general population.

As LNN reported last week, over one million Canadians lost their jobs in March, driving unemployment from 5.6 per cent in February to 7.8 per cent in March. More details here.