The Conference Board of Canada says the economy may have already begun to recover from the deepest recession on record if the country can avoid another national COVID-related shutdown.

The private sector groupB次元官网网址檚 quarterly forecast estimates CanadaB次元官网网址檚 economy will shrink by 8.2 per cent this year, after about three million jobs were lost in March and April due to COVID shut-downs.

It also projects CanadaB次元官网网址檚 national unemployment rate will peak at 13.7 per cent in the second quarter ending June 30, the highest since the measure was first recorded in 1976.

But the report says the addition of nearly 300,000 jobs in May and continued easing of restrictions in June probably indicate the pandemicB次元官网网址檚 worst impact on the labour market has passed.

ItB次元官网网址檚 projecting the addition of another 1.3 million jobs in the July to September quarter, dropping the national unemployment rate to 10.5 per cent.

The Conference Board says that if the country can avoid a second national shutdown, CanadaB次元官网网址檚 economy could grow by 6.7 per cent in 2021 and by 4.8 per cent in 2022.

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The Canadian Press

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