Posted: Wednesday, 1 July 2009
This is the second in a series of analytical reports from the Social and Economic Policy Department of the Canadian Labour Congress reporting on the impacts of the global economic crisis on the jobs, wages, and economic security of working Canadians.
This report focuses on rising unemployment and shows that―when the rise of “hidden” unemployment is taken into account―we have already hit double digit levels.
Rising unemployment is entirely driven by major job losses which have affected almost every community in Canada. Since October 2008, we have lost more than 400,000 full-time jobs, and the great majority of these are permanent layoffs.
Recessions lead not just to higher unemployment, but also to a shift to more insecure and lower paid jobs. It is early days yet, but there has been a significant shift to involuntary part-time work.
Recession Watch Bulletin #2