Canadian Employment Figures Would be Far Worse Without Part Time Jobs
Overall, the Canadian economy has seen the emergence of 44,000 new jobs in October, which disrupted the labor market trend seen in August and September. The number of jobs created in October exceeded expectations of a 15,000-job loss. The unemployment rate remained stable at seven percent. And that’s the good news.
The long-term trend suggests more pessimistic scenarios. For starters, job growth in Canada has become a three-horse race. Only three provinces—Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia—are experiencing growth in jobs since October 2015, according to Statistics Canada. Perhaps more troubling is the fact that the number of part-time jobs was the one statistic showing solid growth. Part-time jobs increased by 124,000, or 3.6%, in 2016. Full-time jobs only increased by 15,500. The reverse trend would have been better. (Source: “Canada Pretty Much Only Churning Out Part-Time Jobs,” Huffington Post, November 3, 2016.)
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Then there is the bigger problem. Canada has started to mostly churn out part-time jobs. The overall economic context is ripe with uncertainties connected to the U.S. economy. As Canada’s largest trading partner, when the U.S. sneezes, Canada catches a cold. As the unemployment rate rises in the United States, a downside was expected.
The most buoyant sector, based on where job searchers found employment, was construction. But, the Bank of Canada said that economic growth for 2016 will amount to 1.1%. This is a disappointing level and it suggests that the Bank of Canada may have to lower its key interest rate to stimulate the economy—lowering the value of the Canadian dollar in the process.
Meanwhile, even as the financial markets are performing at near-record highs, most Canadians are living paycheck to paycheck. They suffer from heavy debt, stagnant salaries, and—despite the rhetoric of no inflation—a higher cost of living. (Source: “Is Canada a part-time jobs nation? 67k part-time jobs added in October,” Economic Collapse News, November 4, 2016.)
What might be most troubling is the jovial attitude of Canada’s political leaders—at Provincial and Federal levels. The leadership has been content to mask the fact that the economy is growing at a much slower pace. Meanwhile, the promises of the Trudeau government have yet to translate from rhetoric to fact.
