Research summary - Impact of education on receiving Canada Emergency Response Benefit payments

Official title of the report: The impact of education on incidence and duration of receiving Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments in 2020

Author of the report: Mohammad Chowdhury

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Why this study

The federal government helped Canadians who lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 pandemic by creating the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program. This research looks at which workers used CERB, by type of education.

What we did

This research used CERB data to look at:

• the traits of workers who got CERB payments, by highest level of education, and
• the number of weeks workers got CERB payments for, by highest level of education

What we found

• Workers with a high school diploma had a higher likelihood of getting CERB payments
• Workers with university degrees were less likely to get CERB payments
• Indigenous workers were more likely to get CERB payments than non-Indigenous workers
• Indigenous and non-Indigenous workers with a university degree were as likely to get CERB
• Using CERB was highest for women with college and trades education, and workers living in Québec

What it means

This research shows that those in jobs that required higher levels of education were less likely to have received CERB payments. In contrast, their peers in jobs that required less education were more likely to receive it. This is important learning and labour market information. It may help current and future students understand which job sectors may be hardest hit during global crisis and/or economic uncertainty.

Contact us

Learning Branch, Learning Policy and Services Directorate, Policy, Planning and Partnerships Division

Email: esdc.nc.sspb.research-recherche.dgpss.cn.edsc@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca