In December, the Canadian economy lost 45,900 jobs, increasing the national unemployment rate to 7.2%, from 6.9% in November.
While there is significant volatility in the month-to-month job numbers, these numbers are nevertheless disappointing. Despite the decline in December, more jobs have been created than have disappeared over the last 12 months. For all of 2013, the Canadian economy created 102,000 jobs.
The December national job numbers demonstrate that we must remain focussed on creating an environment where job creation can flourish.
While there are many factors outside of the federal government’s control – the ongoing challenges in the U.S. and Europe are just two examples – there are things that can be done. Important reforms have been made to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program to ensure that Canadians are given the first chance at available jobs.
The federal government continues to refine the plan for the Canada Job Grant, to help close the gap between those looking for work and high-skilled jobs that are going unfilled. The Canada Job Grant will provide up to $15,000 to those seeking to re-train and upgrade their skills (up to $10,000 from the federal government, to match up to $5,000 from an employer, for a total of $15,000). This will help unemployed and younger Canadians acquire the skills necessary to fill the jobs currently unfilled because of a lack of skills.
Locally, the job picture is much rosier. Due to the strength of our local communities, job creation remains robust and unemployment low.
The unemployment rate in Wellington County was 5.5% in December, well below the provincial and national rates. Even better, Halton Region’s unemployment rate stood at 4% in September 2013. We are fortunate to live in the communities we do.
Since the global recession ended in 2009, the Canadian economy has produced about a million new jobs, almost 600,000 above the pre-recession peak.
Nonetheless, as the December job numbers remind us, we must remain focused on implementing further measures to foster economic growth and job creation. The upcoming federal budget in February will be a chance for the government to do exactly that.
Please contact me if you have any questions. I can be reached by phone at (66-878-5556 or by email at michael.chong@parl.gc.ca.