>Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 12:42:27 -0700
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>From: Sid Shniad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: STUDY PAINTS BLEAK JOB SCENE IN CANADA
>
>The National Post June 3, 1999
>
>STUDY PAINTS BLEAK JOB SCENE IN CANADA
>
> 52% BELOW $15 AN HOUR
>
> Jobless figures don't measure underemployment, report contends
>
> By James Cudmore
>
> Canadian workers are underpaid and underemployed, says a
>report released yesterday by Ryerson Polytechnic University.
> The study, conducted by the Ryerson Social Reporting Net-
>work, observes that 52% of Canadians are paid less than $15 an
>hour, and that 45% of the country's workforce is engaged in
>"flexible" work, with people unable to find full-time or permanent
>jobs.
> The study, which was produced through an analysis of labour
>force surveys by Statistics Canada surveys, stands in sharp contrast
>with the oft-expressed claim that the growing Canadian economy is
>creating a stronger, more secure labour market.
> "We hear an awful lot about the new economic boom," said Dr.
>John Shields, the author of the study.
> "But, I think there is still a real question about what that means
>for people in the labour market.
> "This study clearly reveals a great wage differential between
>people who have stable jobs and those with flexible employment,"
>Dr. Shields said.
> "The labour market is polarized between stable, secure types of
>employment and insecure, inadequately compensated employment."
> According to Dr. Shields, 45% of Canadian workers are en-
>gaged in flexible work (defined as part-time and non-permanent),
>earning an average of $5 to $8 less an hour than full time workers.
> The study goes on to suggest that these flexible workers have
>little chance of improving their wage.
> "All of the indicators show that this is the emerging trend," said
>Dr. Shields, "It's the new labour market."
> The Ryerson report also introduced a new employment-vul-
>nerability measure intended to reflect the amount of underem-
>ployment in the society, rather than just unemployment.
> "Looking at traditional unemployment isn't enough," Dr. Shields
>said.
> "It masks the tremendous underemployment in our economy,
>people who are working part time who don't want to be. They want
>more work, but just aren't able to find it."
> While the official unemployment rate in the country is 8.4%, the
>Ryerson study estimates that as many as 20.3% of Canadians are
>underemployed or otherwise lack employment security and an
>adequate level of wages.
> "If we look at the employment problem from that perspective,
>the real unemployment rate is two-and-a half times larger," Dr.
>Shields said.
> "What's really going on in the labour market is an increase in
>more-peripheral and more-vulnerable types of employment," Dr.
>Shields says.
> "I think that's very serious for families."
>
>
>