What's New > New report shows positive impact on CERB recipients
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CERB helped jobless workers rebound from massive pandemic-related unemployment: Survey
OTTAWA — A national survey of Canadian workers who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) during the pandemic lockdown say the income support not only gave them peace of mind, it helped them springboard back into the job market when the lockdowns lifted.
Canada Emergency Response Benefit: More than just an income program, a Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) report that was funded by the Future Skills Centre, features new data about CERB’s positive benefits on its recipients based on a national survey conducted for the CCPA by Abacus Data.
“The survey makes clear that CERB was more than just an income program to help workers pay their bills during the worst Canadian job disruption since 1936, it also allowed them to further their education and improve their skills,” says co-author Katherine Scott, a senior researcher with the CCPA’s National Office.
Thirty-seven per cent of survey respondents pursued an education while on CERB—close to three-quarters (72 per cent) of whom said they would not have done so without that income support—indicating just how critical an adequate income support program can be to building a bridge between work and upskilling.
The survey shows that the CERB program played a key role easing the transition back to work: Two-thirds (66 per cent) of respondents who returned to the workforce said CERB allowed them to re-enter the job market in a way that worked best for them; 62 per cent said it gave them time to think about the career/job they wanted, and 57 per cent said it allowed them to look for the right job, not just the first job that came along.
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