Friday, February 17, 2017

Where Did All the Good Jobs Go?

According to a recent study by CIBC, job quality has declined over the past two decades.

Part-time work has risen, particularly among older workers. It shot up during the 2008/2009 recession, and has yet to return to pre-recession levels.
Many older workers are facing declining job quality.
The number of low-paying, full-time jobs has grown more rapidly than the rate of high-paying ones.
The number of workers earning a below-average wage has risen from 58 percent in 1997 to 61 percent in 2015.

Further data from Statistics Canada show that the situation is even worse for young Canadians.

For the last 40 years, Canada’s youth (aged 15–24) have been facing unemployment rates that are 2.3 times higher than their older counterparts.
Fewer young Canadians who are not students are employed full time today than in 1976.
Those under 25 who manage to land a full-time job have seen their wages fall behind cost-of-living increases.

Overall, male workers aged 17–24 have seen their real hourly wage, or buying power, drop 15 percent, while women have seen it drop 10 percent.

Sources: CIBC Capital Markets—In Focus, macleans.ca

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