StatCan Reports Fewest Vacant Jobs on Record
Statistics Canada reported today that there were only 199,700 vacant jobs in December 2013, the fewest recorded since it first reported these figures for March 2011.
Statistics Canada began tracking job vacancies in response to claims of a labour shortage by governments and corporate Canada. But the number of vacancies falling below 200,000 casts further doubt on the notion that Canada is suffering from a shortage of workers.
The real problem is a shortage of jobs. Statistics Canada calculates that there are 6.3 unemployed workers per available job.
Policymakers should focus on creating jobs and providing adequate benefits to the unemployed, rather than on alleviating phantom labour shortages.
UPDATE (March 19): Interviewed on last night’s The National (CBC video) and quoted in today’s Globe & Mail (page A10), Regina Leader-Post (page D1) and Saskatoon StarPhoenix (page D4).
Although I’d agree that the numbers presented in the 2014 federal budget are misleading in the sense that a national labour shortage is a myth. But is it still not possible that certain regions of the country are showing signs of difficulty with respect to acquiring skilled workers.
Certainly there are available workers in Atlantic Canada that could staff available positions in Alberta or Saskatchewan…but what if people are tired of having to move away from their home?
The Job Guarantee: A Government Plan for Full Employment
The benefits of full employment include production of goods, services and income; on-the-job training and skill development; poverty alleviation; community building and social networking; social, political and economic stability; and social multipliers (positive feedbacks and reinforcing dynamics that create a virtuous cycle of socioeconomic benefits). An “employer of last resort†program would restore the government’s lost commitment to full employment in recognition of the fact that the total impact would exceed the sum of the benefits.
more at http://www.thenation.com/article/161249/job-guarantee-government-plan-full-employment#
The real problem is a shortage of vision a few decades into an abundance economy. “Creating jobs” is like trying to improve the horse-and-buggy not only after the Model T, but after the Lamborghini. The work-like-a-horse ethic is obsolete. The livable Basic Income Guarantee starts our engines, gentlemen (and ladies), and ends centuries of exploitation.