Canada / Governments slash jobs at record pace

Canadian governments are slashing jobs with notable speed, one of the reasons behind the weaker showing in the labour market.

“Restraint at all levels of government has hit this sector hard,” senior economist Benjamin Reitzes of BMO Nesbitt Burns said of the public administration category.

“With the federal government and most provinces still looking to balance the books, don’t expect a comeback anytime soon.”

His research today shows that public sector employment declined by a record 5.3 per cent in November from a year earlier. That’s almost 52,000 jobs.

Referring to Friday’s report from Statistics Canada on how the jobs market fared last month, Mr. Reitzes noted that overall employment rose by a “meagre” 1 per cent over the course of the 12 months. In fact, so far this year, employment is up by just 147,900 for the poorest showing since 2001, excluding the recession period.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via Canadian governments slash jobs at record pace – The Globe and Mail.