Amid Canada’s ongoing pandemic-related job slump, there’s one employer that desperately needs workers now: Statistics Canada.
The federal agency is hiring 32,000 people for this spring’s census, offering pay of $17.83 per hour for part-time, non-supervisory jobs, or $21.77 per hour for full-time, supervisory “crew leader” jobs. Pay rates are higher in Northern and remote communities.
Candidates must be 18 years of age or older, and need to be Canadian citizens or otherwise eligible to work in Canada. The hiring process will include a security assessment that includes a criminal record check and a credit check, Statistics Canada said on its website.
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The agency says it intends to keep employees safe during the pandemic.
“When a Statistics Canada census employee is sent in person to a dwelling for non-response follow-up, the employee will be required to wear personal safety equipment (provided by Statistics Canada) as well as maintain proper physical distancing, in accordance with guidelines from public health authorities,” StatCan said.
The temporary hiring spree comes at a time when hundreds of thousands of Canadians are still looking for work following last spring’s shutdowns. According to StatCan’s own data, the country had 574,000 fewer jobs in November than before the pandemic, a loss of one in every 33 jobs.
The jobless rate of 8.5 per cent in November is a big improvement over last summer, when the rate peaked at 13.7 per cent, but is still well above normal.
StatCan’s latest job numbers, for December, will be released Friday morning. Economists expect the jobless rate to tick up slightly because of new restrictions on activities announced by some provinces that month.