Women’s labour force participation levels drop: RBC report

Women’s participation in the labour force is at its lowest levels in three decades, according to a new study from the Royal Bank of Canada.

The report says 1.5 million women lost their jobs in the first two months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employment among women with toddlers or school-aged children fell seven per cent between February and May.

That compares to a four per cent decrease for fathers of children the same age.

The drop for single mothers was 12 per cent between February and June, compared with a seven per cent for single fathers.

The study says women accounted for about 45 per cent of the decline in hours worked over the downturn, but will only make up 35 per cent of the recovery.