relative to february 2020 by age of youngest child, monthly data * % % - 5 - 5 - 10 - 10 - 15 - 15 - 20 - 20 - 25 - 25 - 30 - 30 under 6, men under 6, women 6 – 12, men 6 – 12, women 13 – 17, men 13 – 17, women current level vs. february, men change at trough, men ( february to april ) current level vs. february, women change at trough, women ( february to april ) * to account for seasonal fluctuations, staff compare the change in 2020 employment with changes in 2019 to isolate the additional changes in hours worked related to the covid - 19 shock. change at trough is calculated as ( 2020m04 / 2020m2 - 1 ) * 100 - ( 2019m04 / 2019m02 - 1 ) * 100 and current level change is ( 2020m08 / 2020m02 - 1 ) * 100 - ( 2019m08 / 2019m02 - 1 ) * 100. sources : statistics canada and bank of canada calculations last observation : august 2020 job losses and reduced hours have been especially severe for young people. at one point, more than half of the potential youth labour force was underutilized. 2 among younger workers, women have been affected much more than men. finally, although the data is not as complete for visible minorities and indigenous peoples, available data suggests that these groups have fared worse during the pandemic than other canadians. 3 for example, statistics canada reported that in august the unemployment rate for younger members of visible minorities is almost 15 percentage points higher than that for other canadian youth. moreover, as of august, employment for indigenous peoples living off reserves was still almost 9 percent below its february level, compared to just over 3 percent for non - indigenous canadians. incomes have been much less affected than employment, thanks to government programs like the canada emergency response benefit ( cerb ). and government wage - support programs are helping workers stay connected to their employers — many of the job losses from covid - 19 are temporary layoffs. 2 statistics canada created a specific definition of labour underutilization to track the impact of covid - 19 on the labour market. the labour underutilization rate as measured by statistics canada combines the following segments of the population into a share of the potential labour force : unemployed workers, people who are not in the labour force but who wanted a job yet didn ’ t look for one

##arc payment initiative, or to remember them if and when saarc countries wish to move towards a single payment area at a future date. it also highlights the need for a committed leadership when undertaking sophisticated region - wide projects like sepa. from the beginning, when the sepa policy framework was set by the authorities in the eu area, it was shared with the market led by banks and financial institutions which were entrusted to implement it. however, due to lack of high - level commitment, the difficulties encountered in the coordination of the diverse interests of the banking and financial service industry and the severe competition among service providers have caused delays in implementing this project. when the implementation was slow, at the end of 2003, the european central bank ( ecb ) intervened to speed up the process outlining to the banking community a defined and stringent timetable and requiring greater commitment from the banking industry in delivering sepa. the governance of sepa has also been entrusted to banks and banking associations implying the need for extra regulatory processing. this move too failed and resulted in unsatisfactory outcomes. similarly, product development has not been advantageous to the users as expected earlier. another problem encountered by sepa was that some of the sepa instruments were seen as too basic to fit both the user requirements and the efficiency improvement in the european payment system. a market driven migration from existing national non - cash payment products to the new euro area - wide sepa products have not been able to provide the same minimum service levels that exist in individual countries. in order to ensure that the new euro area – wide products use technology developments and produce future oriented or forward looking payment instruments, the ecb had to intervene and caution product developers. sepa is an example which illustrates the consequences of leaving matters with a group which is not fully committed to the task, without appropriate leadership. the ecb has to stepin to ensure successful completion of the initiative and to move the project on a time target. this episode indicates that the selection of a catalyst and a responsible leader is essential for national as well as regional payment reforms. in many instances, the payment system development leaders or catalysts have been the central banks, but we should recognize that a central bank ’ s core objectives should prevail when they are required to make a choice. 5. role of central banks in leading regional payments initiatives from the central banks ’ point of view, the development of a safe and efficient national payment system has relevance for monetary policy, financial stability