Affordable childcare needed for unemployment recovery: Macklem

The Canadian Press

OTTAWA — The governor of the Bank of Canada says governments could increase access to child care and reduce its cost to help the labour market rebound, and reduce the risk of long-term economic scarring.

Tiff Macklem says making child care more affordable and available across the country would help more women return to the labour force and stay there.

Women's participation in the labour force has fluctuated as school and daycare openings and closures during the pandemic affects their ability to work.

Macklem says women and youth disproportionately felt the brunt of the pain as the second wave of the COVID-19 virus caused more than 250,000 job losses in the last two months,

In a speech today, Macklem says child care and more active labour market policies from governments could help limit the damage to their careers and lifetime earnings.

But he warns that the damage to the national labour market cased by COVID-19 will not be easily undone, saying that a complete recovery will be long and protracted.