Summary
Despite Canada's late overall fall in unemployment rate, B.C's unemployment rate has suffered quite significantly in February 2011 as compared to December 2010. This month, as more people have began once again to search for jobs, the unemployment rate has jumped from 7.6% to 8.2% ( or 9,100 positions ). Elsewhere in Canada, the large amount of job gains in January (rise of 69,200 jobs) has made up for all the jobs lost during the recession. Although the B.C Business Council advises that this month's report not to be taken in too deeply as a return to employment rate growth is expected in the next quarter, as of now there are evident declines in manufacturing, forestry, logging, and construction. In spite of employment in these industries declining, there is a steady improvement in the employment rate in the retail industry as shown by more and more retailers beginning to seek potential employees to hire.
Despite Canada's late overall fall in unemployment rate, B.C's unemployment rate has suffered quite significantly in February 2011 as compared to December 2010. This month, as more people have began once again to search for jobs, the unemployment rate has jumped from 7.6% to 8.2% ( or 9,100 positions ). Elsewhere in Canada, the large amount of job gains in January (rise of 69,200 jobs) has made up for all the jobs lost during the recession. Although the B.C Business Council advises that this month's report not to be taken in too deeply as a return to employment rate growth is expected in the next quarter, as of now there are evident declines in manufacturing, forestry, logging, and construction. In spite of employment in these industries declining, there is a steady improvement in the employment rate in the retail industry as shown by more and more retailers beginning to seek potential employees to hire.
Connection
This article strongly relates to the concept of unemployment and the unemployment rate mentioned in chapter 5. It is seen in this article that as more people once again began seeking employment, the percentage of unemployment followed and saw a rise. According to the textbook, this is because unemployment is "any person, who during the reference week, was without work, had actively looked for work in the last four weeks, and was available for work." In this sense, the rise in unemployment reported in this article may not have necessarily risen, but rather more of the unemployed people of Canada have once again begun seeking employment as many retailers and other small businesses have began hiring again. Another connection that this article can make is the type of unemployment. Due to the effects of the recession, many businesses had difficulty selling their products/services as money was more difficult for a lot of people to come by. However, seeing as how many companies are once again back up on their feet making profits and hiring once again, it can be said that the type of unemployment that was dealt with in this article was "Demand Deficient Unemployment."
Reflection
After reading this article and the textbook, I feel that the way the Labour Force Survey is conducted is not a very good indicator of unemployment rate in Canada. By only counting those who are currently unemployed and looking for a job in the unemployment rate, this number can fluctuate as people begin to give up on seeking employment (due to very little opportunities) or when many companies begin hiring once again (as seen in the article). In this sense, I feel that the rise from 7.6% unemployment to 8.2% unemployment reported in this article should, in fact - much like the B.C Business Council advised, should not be taken in too seriously as although the rate may be going up, a steady thousands of jobs are still being created/opened as the yearand condition of the economy progresses.
LINK: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Canada+January+gains+almost+five+times+higher+than+expected/4223749/story.html?tab=PHOT
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