On February 2, 2022, Statistics Canada published a new Labour Force Survey for the week of January 9 to 15. According to the report, in January 2022, employment fell by 200,000 (-1.0%) and the unemployment rate increased to 6.5% due to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The decline in employment was mostly visible in Ontario and Quebec, hitting mainly the accommodation and food services industries of the private sector. In this fifth wave of the pandemic, youth aged 15 to 24 were most affected by employment losses as it was in the previous waves.
