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The Short-Term Effect of COVID-19 on Self-Employed Workers in Canada

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  • Beland, Louis-Philippe
  • Fakorede, Oluwatobi
  • Mikola, Derek

Abstract

Using the Canadian Labour Force Survey, we document the short-term impact of COVID-19 on self-employed individuals in Canada, which we interpret as small business owners. We document an important decrease in business ownership between February 2020 and May 2020 (-14.8 percent for incorporated and -10.1 percent for unincorporated entities). We find a greater decrease in ownership and aggregate hours for women, immi- grants and less educated over the same period. The industries with the largest decrease are in art, culture, and recreation (-14.8 percent); in education, law and social, commu- nity and government services (-13.6 percent); and in sales and service occupations (-12.8 percent).

Suggested Citation

  • Beland, Louis-Philippe & Fakorede, Oluwatobi & Mikola, Derek, 2020. "The Short-Term Effect of COVID-19 on Self-Employed Workers in Canada," GLO Discussion Paper Series 585, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:585
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    Cited by:

    1. Charlene Marie Kalenkoski & Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia, 2022. "Impacts of COVID-19 on the self-employed," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 741-768, February.
    2. Louis-Philippe Beland & Abel Brodeur & Taylor Wright, 2020. "COVID-19, Stay-at-Home Orders and Employment: Evidence from CPS Data," Carleton Economic Papers 20-04, Carleton University, Department of Economics, revised 19 May 2020.
    3. Daniel Graeber & Alexander S. Kritikos & Johannes Seebauer, 2021. "COVID-19: a crisis of the female self-employed," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(4), pages 1141-1187, October.
    4. Block, Joern & Kritikos, Alexander S. & Priem, Maximilian & Stiel, Caroline, 2022. "Emergency-aid for self-employed in the Covid-19 pandemic: A flash in the pan?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    5. Fairlie, Robert, 2020. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Small Business Owners: The First Three Months after Social-Distancing Restrictions," MPRA Paper 113127, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Pham Quoc Thuan & Nguyen Vinh Khuong & Nguyen Duong Cam Anh & Nguyen Thi Xuan Hanh & Vo Huynh Anh Thi & Tieu Ngoc Bao Tram & Chu Gia Han, 2022. "The Determinants of the Usage of Accounting Information Systems toward Operational Efficiency in Industrial Revolution 4.0: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-19, April.
    7. Robert Fairlie, 2020. "The impact of COVID‐19 on small business owners: Evidence from the first three months after widespread social‐distancing restrictions," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 727-740, October.
    8. Mona Farouk Ali, 2022. "Between panic and motivation: did the first wave of COVID-19 affect scientific publishing in Mediterranean countries?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(6), pages 3083-3115, June.
    9. Yahong Zhang, 2022. "Unemployment Benefits and Wage Subsidies -- Effects of Labour Market Policies during a Pandemic," Working Papers 2203, University of Windsor, Department of Economics, revised Sep 2022.
    10. Thapa, Manish, 2020. "Coping with COVID impact on self-employment: Do gender and academic education matters?," MPRA Paper 105062, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Nicola Raimo & Pedro-José Martínez-Córdoba & Bernardino Benito & Filippo Vitolla, 2021. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Labor Market: An Analysis of Supply and Demand in the Spanish Municipalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-12, November.
    12. Thapa, Manish, 2020. "Coping with COVID impact on self-employment: Do gender and academic education matters?," MPRA Paper 105050, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Ahn, Kunwon & Lee, Jun Yeong & Winters, John V., 2020. "Employment Opportunities and High School Completion during the COVID-19 Recession," ISU General Staff Papers 202010190700001114, Iowa State University, Department of Economics.
    14. Pierre Brochu & Jonathan Créchet, 2021. "Survey Non-response in Covid-19 Times: The Case of the Labour Force Survey," Working Papers 2109E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    15. Olivier Torrès & Alexandre Benzari & Christian Fisch & Jinia Mukerjee & Abdelaziz Swalhi & Roy Thurik, 2022. "Risk of burnout in French entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 crisis," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 717-739, February.
    16. Louis-Philippe Beland & Abel Brodeur & Derek Mikola & Taylor Wright, 2020. "COVID-19, Occupation Tasks and Mental Health in Canada," Carleton Economic Papers 20-07, Carleton University, Department of Economics, revised 30 Jun 2020.
    17. Robert Amano & Marc-André Gosselin & Kurt See, 2021. "Exploring the potential benefits of inflation overshooting," Staff Analytical Notes 2021-16, Bank of Canada.
    18. John Baker & Kourtney Koebel & Lindsay Tedds, 2021. "Gender Disparities in the Labour Market? Examining the COVID-19 Pandemic in Alberta," SPP Research Papers, The School of Public Policy, University of Calgary, vol. 14(18), June.
    19. Minyahil Assefa, 2023. "COVID-19 Lockdown Restrictions and Small Business Survival Strategy: Government Supporting Schemes," Business Perspectives and Research, , vol. 11(2), pages 227-245, May.
    20. Kourtney Koebel & Dionne Pohler, 2020. "Labor Markets in Crisis: The Double Liability of Low‐Wage Work During COVID‐19," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 503-531, October.
    21. Brochu, Pierre & Créchet, Jonathan & Deng, Zechuan, 2020. "Labour market flows and worker trajectories in Canada during COVID-19," CLEF Working Paper Series 32, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    22. Iuliana COMAN, 2022. "Solutions for Relaunching Art Consumption After COVID-19 - From the Perspective of Consumers with Higher Education," Database Systems Journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 13(1), pages 35-46.
    23. Giovanni Gallo & Michele Raitano, 2020. "SOS incomes: Simulated effects of COVID-19 and emergency benefits on individual and household income distribution in Italy," Working Papers 566, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    24. Andreas Kuckertz & Leif Brändle, 2022. "Creative reconstruction: a structured literature review of the early empirical research on the COVID-19 crisis and entrepreneurship," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 72(2), pages 281-307, June.
    25. Luca Bonacini & Giovanni Gallo & Sergio Scicchitano, 2021. "Working from home and income inequality: risks of a ‘new normal’ with COVID-19," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 303-360, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Self-Employed workers; Entrepreneurship; Employment; Labour Force; Hours;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L26 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Entrepreneurship
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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