The COVID‑19 pandemic is a good example of a downturn that affected Canadians in different ways.
Most people who could work from home during the pandemic kept their jobs and experienced little or no change to their income. At the same time, public health measures to contain the spread of the virus hit some services—such as restaurants, accommodation, travel and entertainment—particularly hard. Many people working in these sectors lost their regular source of income. Low-wage workers, especially women and young people, felt this impact more.
The unusual policy supports that the federal government put in place during the pandemic also had uneven effects. Some people received enough financial support to make up for their lost wages. Others, however, did not. Similarly, while some households with fewer opportunities to spend were able to reduce their debt, others took on more debt.
By early 2022, most of the pandemic’s uneven impacts on employment were reversed. As well, households across income groups were, on average, in healthier financial positions than they were before the pandemic.