Job Market Monitor
Michel Cournoyer
Canada – Jacob retail chain closing its 92 stores – 2,000 jobs gone
After years of financial struggles, the Jacob retail chain announced Tuesday it is closing its 92 stores across Canada. “It’s a very sad day for retail in Quebec,” said analyst Terry Henderson of J.C. Williams Group. “Joey Basmaji was an icon,’’ he said of the founder of the family-owned fashion chain.Stores will remain open for … Continue reading
US – Public, private or a top 100-ranked school do not make a difference in workplace engagement or well-being study finds
Gallup, in partnership with Purdue University and Lumina Foundation, today released results from the inaugural Gallup-Purdue Index that finds there is no difference in workplace engagement or a college graduate’s well-being if they attended a public or private not-for-profit institution, a highly selective institution, or a top 100-ranked school in U.S. News & World Report. … Continue reading
Skills Gap in US – It could compromise competitiveness manufacturers say
American manufacturers are increasingly finding that prospective workers do not have the skill set required to perform necessary job functions, such as basic math and computer abilities. The so-called “skills gap,” if unresolved, could compromise manufacturers’ ability to stay competitive, according to some industry leaders. The cause of the gap is multifaceted. Manufacturing activity has increased in the U.S. … Continue reading
Western Europe – The growth of part-time and temporary work will cause a “demographic crisis” says the British Sociological Association
Western Europe faces a demographic crisis caused by the growth of part-time and temporary work, the British Sociological Association. Professor Andranik Tangian said that if current trends continued, by 2030 a “critical” situation would develop, with growing economic inequality and fewer births. At the root of this was the growth of the number of people … Continue reading
Canada – Better Labour Market Information are needed says the Auditor-General
The Auditor-General is weighing into the heated debate over job vacancy data, calling on Statistics Canada to provide more detailed information as to exactly where shortages are occurring and for precisely what jobs and skills. Auditor-General Michael Ferguson’s Spring 2014 report, released Tuesday, includes a largely positive report on the performance of Statistics Canada, but … Continue reading
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program – Workers left in limbo by moratorium
Thousands of temporary foreign workers already on the job in Canada and in the midst of renewing their work permits are left in limbo by the moratorium on the fast food industry imposed by Federal Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. If the moratorium is not lifted within 90 days, most of these workers will be forced … Continue reading
Sweden – Networking better than labour-market training says Arbetsförmedlingen
Labour-market training, meant to prep job seekers for work, no longer has the desired effect, Sweden’s jobs agency said on Monday. Networking was still the best way to find a job last year. The job-specific training, known as arbetsmarknadsutbildning, has been one of the more costly initiatives to get job seekers into work, the agency … Continue reading
11 EU Nations Set To Tax Financial Transactions – “It’s a tax on job” says UK treasury chief George Osborne
A group of 11 European Union countries agreed to introduce a financial transaction tax from 2016 onward, Austrian Finance Minister Michael Spindelegger said Tuesday. The nations — including economic heavyweights Germany, France, Italy and Spain — will initially tax only the trading of shares and some derivatives, Spindelegger told a meeting of the EU’s 28 … Continue reading
Chinese jobs website Zhaopin seeking investment in US
Chinese jobs website operator Zhaopin Ltd filed with U.S. regulators to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering of American depositary shares. SEEK International Investments Pty Ltd, controlled by SEEK Ltd, which provides online employment advertising, training courses and invests in online employment marketplaces, holds 79 percent of Zhaopin shares. Beijing-based Zhaopin … Continue reading
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program – Their number doubled in 3 years in Windsor
Statistics show the number of temporary foreign workers employed in Windsor has more than doubled since 2009. The website for the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration shows 614 were employed in 2009. That number jumped to 1,550 in 2012, the last year for which data is available on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website. The … Continue reading
US – A Middle Class Job No Longer Supports a Middle Class Life
Eighty-five percent of the middle class say their standard of living is harder to maintain than it was a decade ago. This is due, in large part, to the fact that a middle class job often no longer supports a middle class life. Namely, their incomes have not kept pace with the costs of the … Continue reading
EU’s long-term growth and jobs plan – A public consultation launched
The Commission has launched a public consultation on the Europe 2020 strategy, the EU’s long-term growth and jobs plan. The consultation will be open until 31 October 2014. Through this public consultation, the Commission is seeking the views of all interested people and organisations on the Europe 2020 strategy. The aim of the consultation is … Continue reading
Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers Program – Then-Human Resources Minister Diane Finley knew
A cabinet minister in the Harper government was warned two years ago that jobs were going to temporary foreign workers even in areas where there were Canadians available to do them, according to internal documents. In notes prepared for then-Human Resources Minister Diane Finley, HRSDC warned of a “disconnect between the Temporary Foreign Worker program” … Continue reading
India – Every year 12 million young Indians will arrive in the job market: where are the jobs ?
I am constantly surprised at how often in conversations with thoughtful people this statistic is brought up: that, from now on for the next decade, every year 12 million young Indians will arrive in the job market. And this additional statistic is brought up too: that in the past few years, the organised sector in … Continue reading
US Monetary Policy – Too soon for talk of rate hikes says Dallas Fed President
t’s too soon for the Federal Reserve to begin thinking about raising interest rates despite a strengthening U.S. economy, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said on Sunday. Mr. Fisher, a self-described inflation hawk who opposed the central bank’s latest round of bond purchases, said the weakness in first quarter U.S. economic growth, which nearly stalled … Continue reading
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