Employment within the various industries that make up the Canadian automotive sector declined in the first half of 2020 amid lockdowns and an ongoing pandemic, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants (DAC).
DAC said average employment for this period as a whole, which includes the pre-pandemic months (January and February) fell 13.8% year-over-year, while April employment was down 25.5% (more than 170,000 jobs) YOY.
“April and May look to have been the nadir of the downturn” said Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC. “Employment was badly impacted across the industry in those months, with auto dealers being particularly hard hit in April with employment down by more than 60,000 or 38% from 2019.”
The motor vehicle manufacturing industry experienced an employment decline average of 20.5% in the first half of 2020, and 30.7% in May. Automobile dealers were down between 15-20% (hovering around the middle), while the aftermarket also tumbled: automotive repair and maintenance shops were down 24.5% in April (losing over 27,000 jobs); auto parts and accessories stores fell 19.4%.
“June definitely marked a step forward in terms of employment with the industry gaining back over 69,000 positions over May, but remaining well below 2019 levels,” said DAC in its report.
