Posted: Friday, 10 June 2011

OTTAWA – Young workers continue to be the victims of Canada’s high unemployment rate, says Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress.

“Our labour market is congested,” says Georgetti. “Older workers can’t get out because many of them do not have secure pensions, and that means younger workers can’t find their first jobs or get decent work.”

Georgetti was commenting on the release by Statistics Canada of its Labour Force Survey for May 2011. There were 1,374,100 unemployed Canadians in May, well above the 1,138,400 who were unemployed in October 2008, just prior to the recession. The unemployment rate for May 2011 remained at 7.4%. It was 6.1% in October 2008.

“The current federal government refuses to allow for improvements to the Canada and Quebec Pensions Plans and it penalizes people for taking their CPP/QPP benefits prior to age 65. “That is forcing older people to remain at work,” Georgetti says. “At the same time, the government has no youth job creation strategy beyond its misplaced reliance on corporate tax cuts.”

Georgetti is calling on the new Parliament to create improved youth employment strategies and CPP/QPP reforms to provide retirement security for older workers.

Quick Analysis from CLC Senior Economist Sylvain Schetagne

While some of the labour force figures released today may sound like good news, with an increase in total employment (+22,300), an increase in full-time work (+32,900), a decrease in part-time work (-10,600), and a decreased number of unemployed (-50,000), other figures suggest a deterioration of the job quality and labour market perspective. The number of Canadians active in the labour market decreased in May (-27,800). Self-employment, often used as the last option, is up significantly this month (+29,500), while the number of employees (a status often providing better job security) is down (-7,300). Employment is down in many of the sectors providing good wages and benefits. For example, employment is down significantly in the public sector (-44,300) and in manufacturing (-22,500). On the other hand, employment is up in sectors providing wages well below average, such as in trade (+34,400).

Finally, youth employment remains well below what we observed before the job crisis began. In May 2011, 2,477,600 Canadians aged 15 to 24 years old were employed, compared to 2,659,100 in October 2008, a gap of 181,500 jobs. Full-time employment is also well below levels observed before the job crisis began. In October 2008, 1,451,400 young workers were working full-time, compared to 1,295,700 last month, a gap of 155,700 full-time jobs. As a contrast, employment is up significantly for those 55+ and 65+. For instance, employment increased by 38.3% between 2007 and 2010 for Canadians aged 65 and over, from 356,400 to 492,800.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.2 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada’s national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 130 district labour councils. Web site: www.canadianlabour.ca

Contacts: Sylvain Schetagne, CLC Senior Economist: 613-526-7412.
Dennis Gruending, CLC Communications: 613-526-7431 or
Mobile: 613-878-6040 Email: dgruending@clc-ctc.ca