It's time for leadership on jobs

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Aug. 8, 2014) - The president of the Canadian Labour Congress has renewed his call for a national jobs strategy, following the latest employment numbers from Statistics Canada that show nearly 60,000 full-time jobs were lost in July, only to be replaced with 60,000 part-time jobs.

"The jobs market is stuck. It needs help to get back on the road to economic recovery. But our governments continue to let the tires spin and tell us we're not stuck as deeply as the Americans. They do nothing, as more workers give up hope," says Hassan Yussuff.

"It's particularly unfair to young Canadians who can't find the full-time work they need to get their lives started and build for the future - Canada's future. The longer we wait while governments refuse to act, the longer Canada spins its wheels without leadership and a clear plan to get out of the mud and back on the road, the further we let the next generation fall behind," says Yussuff.

Quick Analysis from CLC Senior Economist Sylvain Schetagne

Despite claims of action as part of a "plan," little has been done to stimulate the labour market in recent months and the latest data from Statistics Canada confirm that the labour market is flat, and more precarious.

If Statistics Canada had included their estimate of labour under-utilization in Canada - people who have stopped looking for work because they've given up or because they've had to take whatever work they could find - Canada's real under-employment rate would be at least double the official rate published by the Government of Canada.

In July 2014, no jobs were created. 59,700 workers lost their full time jobs, replaced by 60,000 part time jobs. All of the jobs created over the last 12 months were part-time and the unemployment rate has barely moved. Meanwhile, 35,400 Canadians left the labour market last month, including 14,000 workers aged between 25 and 54 years old, mainly discouraged by the weakness of the job market. Since there were fewer workers looking for a job, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.0% in July, from 7.1% in June.

The Canadian Labour Congress, the national voice of the labour movement, represents 3.3 million Canadian workers. The CLC brings together Canada's national and international unions along with the provincial and territorial federations of labour and 111 district labour councils.