More than 1 million Canadians have applied for employment insurance in the past two weeks!
Emergency measures from the Canadian federal government include an $82-billion financial rescue package, including $27 billion in direct financial aid to households and businesses, extending unemployment benefits to those who don’t qualify for EI, expanding coverage to those who must self-isolate and aren’t eligible for EI sickness benefits, relief for SMBs, and income support for parents who are unable to earn income while schools are closed as a result of child-care duties.
In HRchat #161, Bill Banham speaks with Jesse Ryan, Founder at High Road Human Capital and talent acquisition expert, about COVID-19’s unprecedented impact on Canadian unemployment rates, what the latest figures could mean, and how AI and automation may step in to fill the gaps.
Listen to this HRchat episode to get Jesse Ryan’s thoughts on:
- What do the current Canadian employment rates mean and are these numbers short term or is this the start of a massive recession and a collapse long-term in employment rates?
- What will the Canadian jobs market look like in three to six months?
- What are the challenges for HR departments now and later in 2020?
- What does the crisis mean for recruitment firms in Canada?
- Will we see many companies accelerating their efforts to adopt new automated alternatives to duties performed by humans as they look to futureproof their businesses from the repercussions of a potential second wave of Covid-19?
- Will those with more technical skills be better placed to quickly re-enter the workplace?
This episode of the HRchat show is supported by Espresa, a firm helping to define and ignite the HR tech space to disrupt culture for good.
We do our best to ensure editorial objectivity. The views and ideas shared in this episode are entirely independent of our show sponsors. There is no relationship between the guest and companies advertising within the podcasts published by The HR Gazette or it’s partners.