OTTAWA – Today’s Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey shows that the overly-rosy picture some claim about the economic recovery doesn’t hold up on closer inspection.

Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress points out that the reality facing many Canadian workers is not so positive. Some workers, particularly in lower wage industries, simply haven’t seen the rebound that some professional and higher-wage sectors have experienced. Meanwhile the accommodation and food services sector, which was hurting even before the pandemic, remains 17% behind pre-pandemic employment levels.

“While inflation and rising interest rates squeeze family budgets, wages are simply not keeping up and the jobs recovery we have seen is uneven. Average hourly wages were just 3.1% higher than a year ago, while inflation jumped 5.1%,” said Bruske. “The reality is, hidden in the rosy job numbers are hundreds of thousands of Canadian workers being left behind.”

Bruske also pushed back against the narrative coming from some in the business community about labour shortages when the real issue for many sectors is unfair wages and poor working conditions.

“In some specific sectors, like health care, there are real labour shortages that must be addressed, but often, when businesses talk about labour shortages it is actually employers complaining about finding workers at the rock-bottom wages they were used to paying,” said Bruske. “If restaurants, retail or other low-wage places paid better, offered predictable hours and included real benefits, they would absolutely find there are workers out there for them.”

Bruske added that as people look at the latest labour stats, it is vital they look beyond the top-level numbers to see the full picture. Statistics Canada said the unemployment rate would have been 7.4% last month, if it included people who wanted a job but did not look for one.

“There are so many people that are discouraged from this job market, unable to find decent, secure, work. We all want to declare the pandemic over, but building back the economy is a marathon, not a sprint,” concluded Bruske. “Too many workers and families are not sharing in the recovery while governments and employers take premature victory laps.”

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To arrange an interview, please contact:
CLC Media Relations
media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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Part-time jobs in Canada are typically low-wage with no benefits. The gap between part-time and full-time wage earners currently sits at approximately $9 per hour, which disproportionately affects women who account for 75 percent of Canada’s part-time workers.

“With child care identified as a barrier to full-time employment and women shouldering most of the lost earnings, it’s clear that Canada needs a national child care strategy,” said CLC President Hassan Yussuff. “It has been proven again and again that access to child care is a key determinant to improving gender equality. Canada’s unions stand ready to work with governments across the country to build a truly universal, affordable and inclusive child care system.”

Improving women’s employment means addressing the barriers facing the most vulnerable groups of women, and putting in place services and programs that address the systemic roots of discrimination and inequality.

“This government has taken important steps in the process of creating quality, accessible child care,” added Yussuff. “With women making up a significant majority of workers in undervalued and low-wage sectors, there is much more progress we must make toward real equality. Strengthening our child care system would be a good first step.” 

Read the full Labour Market Snapshot here.

For more information and to set up an interview, please contact:

media@clcctc.ca
613-526-7426

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While unemployment rates continue to fall overall, many Canadians aged 15-29 are staying in school or giving up looking for work altogether.

In particular, the number of people aged 25 to 29 who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) has remained high since the 2008-2009 recession. This is when most Canadians have finished their formal education and should be able to find meaningful work that matches their education and training.

The Labour Market Snapshot is a quarterly report, which examines Canada’s employment landscape to spotlight trends in the economy. Analysis is based on Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Surveys.

Read the full Labour Market Snapshot here.

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The Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) provides a detailed quarterly analysis of select labour market indicators and what it means for Canada’s workers.

In our spring snapshot, the CLC discovers that while job growth in Canada is strong, garnering laudatory headlines, there is a hidden story.

While the unemployment rate hovered near 40-year lows, the overall percentage of employed Canadians continued to trend below levels seen before the global financial crisis of 2008. The ensuing recession led many Canadians – particularly women and youth – to leave or delay their entry into the labour market. These dynamics continue to affect the labour market today.

To learn more, download the spring 2019 snapshot here.

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