New research reveals devastating impacts of Hudak's 100,000 province-wide job cuts in London


TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - May 22, 2014) - New research shows that Hudak's proposed cuts of 100,000 public sector jobs would have devastating effects across the province and lead to skyrocketing unemployment rates for many communities.

Recent plant closures at Kellogg's and Caterpillar and a struggling manufacturing sector have left London reeling. The job cuts and losses that would result from Hudak's wreckless policies would further devastate a community that is already in crisis. In London, the job cuts will lead to an estimated 7,116 job losses. This would drive unemployment up by 2.7 percent to 10.7 percent, based on the latest employment figures.

"This research points to the danger of Hudak's brash schemes. Especially in smaller- and medium-sized communities outside Toronto, economies and peoples' futures will be seriously threatened; it will take years to recover," warned OFL President Sid Ryan.

"Hudak's plan will devastate families and communities that are already struggling," said CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. "They'll mean more hospital bed closures and fewer supports in schools for children. They will mean longer wait lists for vital public services such as child care, developmental services and long-term care beds. We need more jobs and public services, not Hudak's cuts."

This research also accounts for the impacts that public sector job losses would have on employment in the private sector. "Local businesses and downtowns will be the first to feel the pain. People without paychecks necessarily watch their pennies carefully, and it is a given that when these workers lose their jobs, they will not be contributing to the local economy as they once did," said Ryan.

The research was conducted by CUPE Senior Economist Toby Sanger. The job loss and unemployment numbers were calculated using the most recent detailed data on employment by industry and occupation for Ontario communities from the National Household Survey and the Labour Force Survey, excluding sectors that would not be affected. It also takes into account the spinoff job losses that would be experienced in the private sector using a standard economic jobs multiplier of 0.67.

The summary below documents the estimated impacts of Hudak's proposed 100,000 public service job cuts in towns and cities across Ontario:

Town or City
(Census Metropolitan Area)
Estimated Job losses Change in Unemployment Resulting Unemployment based on April 2014 rates
Peterborough 2,057 3.2% 14.8%
St Catherines -Niagara 5,301 2.5% 10.7%
Windsor 3,964 2.4% 10.8%
Thunder Bay 2,460 3.8% 9.6%
Ottawa 11,159 1.9% 8.8%
Kingston 3,333 3.8% 10.2%
Oshawa 6,134 2.9% 9.9%
Toronto 62,892 1.8% 9.6%
Hamilton 10,555 2.6% 9.0%
Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo 6,142 2.0% 8.8%
Guelph 2,480 3.2% 10.4%
London 7,116 2.7% 10.7%
Barrie 2,547 2.2% 9.4%
Greater Sudbury 2,785 3.2% 9.4%

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Contact Information:

Ontario Federation of Labour
Sid Ryan
OFL President
416-209-0066
https://twitter.com/SidRyan_OFL

Ontario Federation of Labour
Lynn Simmons
OFL Communications
416-795-1427
lsimmons@ofl.ca

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
Craig Saunders
CUPE Communications
416-576-7316
csaunders@cupe.ca