Liberal support missing while women face massive job losses

HALIFAX -- The Liberal government continues to fail women who are unemployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nova Scotia lost 22,000 jobs in May, almost a third of all job losses in Canada last month. The number of women who were unemployed last month increased by 23 per cent.

“The last 15 months of the pandemic have been incredibly difficult for many women who have had to step out of the workforce because of family responsibilities,” said NDP Status of Women spokesperson Claudia Chender. “Throughout the pandemic, the Liberals have done next to nothing to support women who will face ongoing economic hardship as a result of the pandemic.”

Last month’s job losses were the largest decrease for Nova Scotia since early in the pandemic. Many of the closures during the third wave impacted women-dominated workplaces such as retail and hospitality.

“Recovering from this pandemic is going to take more than just a reopening plan. We need to recognize the financial and personal sacrifices many people have made that will impact their incomes and careers for years to come,” said NDP Labour spokesperson Kendra Coombes. “Women workers have so far been left behind by this Liberal government, and they deserve something better.”

The NDP is pushing for the creation of an Economic Recovery Task Force that would help develop plans to address the economic recovery from COVID-19 and would include input from various sectors and areas of expertise.

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