Statistics Canada (StatCan) has reported that mental health-related disabilities have surged among Canadian workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Combining data from the Labour Force Survey and the Canadian Income Survey, StatCan found that in 2021, the proportion of Canadian workers who reported having a mental health-related disability was 8.7% - a 2.3% increase from 2019 (6.4%).
StatCan has observed that given the change in labour market conditions from 2019 to 2021 - specifically involving large-scale employment losses related to the pandemic - the increase "was likely due mostly to an increase in the prevalence of mental health-related disability" among employees, rather than an increase in employment among those with a disability.
The agency also noted that of all the major demographic groups, it was young women employees that had the largest increase in mental health-related disability cases. In 2021, women employees aged 16 to 24 with mental health-related disabilities reached 17.2%, representing a 7.6% increase from 2019. By comparison, young men in the same age group saw 8.9% mental health-related disabilities in 2021, with little change from 2019.
Meanwhile, the prevalence of mental health-related disability among employees aged 55 years and older was "virtually unchanged," StatCan said, from 2019 to 2021.
The report also noted that 44.2% of youth in 2021 worked in retail trade or accommodation and food services - industries where a considerable large proportion of jobs involve physical proximity to others. Said industries were also noted for their unstable employment securities due to the constant tightening and easing of public health restrictions throughout the pandemic.
