A new report says that historically high numbers of women in the country’s workforce are still lower than they would have been if COVID-19 had never happened.

The report from the Labour Market Information Council says female employment is about 1 percent lower than it could have been if the global pandemic had not altered the economy’s trajectory.

For men, employment levels are about 0.5 percent lower than they would have been if the labour market had grown along its historical average over the past decade.

The report points to these numbers, among other things, to suggest that the job recovery for women may be slightly weaker than headline figures indicate.

Statistics Canada’s February labour market report showed female employment rose by about 178,000 jobs, or 2 percent above levels recorded in February 2020.

For men, the job number was a bit higher at 192,000, or about 1.9 percent above pre-pandemic levels recorded in the same month two years earlier.

Gains are concentrated among middle- and high-income jobs, with slower growth in low-wage jobs.

Bahnoush Omari, the council’s chief economist, said some may have largely moved from part-time work to full-time work at better pay, but many low-wage female workers may have left the labour force entirely.

Omari said young worker recovery was slower than those in the prime working age of 25 to 54. This could mean lower long-term earnings and opportunities if young female workers missed chances to gain on-the-job experience and develop their skills.

The jobs report also showed the share of women holding jobs reached a record high last month, while the rate for men was the highest since 1989.

Omari said the employment rate for mothers still lags that of fathers, indicating long-standing systemic issues and cultural expectations around child care responsibilities between parents.

Edited by: Dima Abu Khair