Employment in the Canadian automotive sector is down in Q1 of 2020, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
The biggest declines hail from the motor vehicle manufacturing sector, followed by motor vehicle parts and accessories manufacturing, automobile dealers, automotive repair and maintenance, and finally automotive parts and accessories stores.
“The manufacturing side of the auto sector saw employment drop by approximately twenty per cent in March,” said DAC in its update. “Beyond manufacturing, employment at automobile dealers fell 14.2% in March and employment in automotive repair and maintenance fell 11.6% — as the Canadian auto industry as a whole lost over 80,000 jobs in the month.”
Some declines were already experienced in certain sectors prior to COVID-19’s impact in Canada. For example, employment in the auto sector was down in January and February with modest dips of 1.0% and 1.4% respectively, in the first two months of the year.
The motor vehicle manufacturing sector experienced a greater impact with a decline of approximately 10 per cent during that period, thanks in part to the closure of General Motors’ Oshawa facility in Ontario. The more serious declines came in March due to lockdowns and the resulting slowdown of the economy.
April numbers are likely to show further declines as the full impact of the economic shutdown becomes more apparent, according to DAC.
“It should be noted, however, that even as the recovery emerges in the auto sector there are significant structural shifts taking place in employment composition that will have longer term consequences for the Canadian industry,” said DAC.
