Posted: Friday, 6 January 2012

OTTAWA – The President of the Canadian Labour Congress says the job market is deteriorating and the federal government must shift its focus from making cuts to assisting in job creation.

Ken Georgetti was commenting on the release by Statistics Canada of its Labour Force Survey for December 2011. Canada lost 25,500 full time jobs and the national unemployment rate rose from 7.4% to 7.5%. There were 1.4 million unemployed Canadians in December.

“Our labour market has had three bad months in a row,” says Georgetti. “In the upcoming budget, the federal government must shift its focus from program cuts to creating jobs.” In the last three months of 2011, the national unemployment rate rose from 7.1% to 7.5% and Canada lost 63,000 full time jobs.

Georgetti is also calling on Finance Minister Jim Flaherty to use the next budget to reverse tax breaks for corporations. “The government keeps giving tax breaks to corporations in the belief that the private sector will use that money to create jobs but the companies are just sitting on the cash and not investing. The government could create jobs by investing in infrastructure projects and other much needed public services.”

Quick Analysis from CLC Chief Economist Andrew Jackson

Canada's job market ended 2011 badly as the national unemployment rate rose from 7.4% to 7.5% and we lost 25,500 full time jobs.

While part-time employment gains offset the losses in full-time employment, this was only because of a strong rise in usually low paid and insecure self-employment. The number of employees fell by 13,600.

The recovery in the job market ground to a halt in the last three months of 2011 as the national unemployment rate rose from 7.1% to 7.5% and we lost 63,000 full time jobs.

There is now a clear need for the government to shift its focus from cuts to jobs.

Job losses in December were concentrated in construction (down 12,800) and health and social service (down 9,200). The number of public sector employees fell by 17,300.

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. Website: www.canadianlabour.ca. Follow us on Twitter: @CanadianLabour

Contacts: Andrew Jackson, CLC Chief Economist: 613-240-3869
Dennis Gruending, CLC Communications: 613-526-7431 or
Mobile: 613-878-6040 Email: dgruending@clc-ctc.ca