Part-Time Recovery
In January, Canada gained 43,000 jobs, almost all of them part-time. Any employment increase is certainly good news and some part-time positions might eventually become full-time positions. The obvious...
View ArticleWages Lag Inflation
Wages had seemed to be one of the relative bright spots during the economic crisis. Despite the carnage in Canada’s job market, average hourly earnings held up fairly well. However, comparing today’s...
View ArticleOntario Budget
Today’s provincial budget continues previously announced stimulus in the short term and projects severe, but largely unspecified, spending restraint in the long term. The most surprising new measure, a...
View ArticleStrong Output, Weak Payrolls
GDP Halfway Home Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) blew past an important milestone in January. Output is now closer to the high-point attained before the crisis than to the low-point reached...
View ArticleFacts on public sector wages
The National Institute on Retirement Security in the U.S. produces some really excellent reports which should be more widely read, and not just on pensions or retirement income. Last week they...
View ArticleApril’s Shower of Jobs
This morning, Statistics Canada reported that employment shot up by an incredible 108,700 in April. Although employment has been recovering for almost a year, it had lagged behind the rebound in...
View ArticleThe new Grecian formula: still toxic
The latest issue of the quarterly Economic Climate for Bargaining publication that I produce has just been posted on CUPE’s website. In this issue I have pieces about: the new spectre that is haunting...
View ArticleMore Jobs, But Fewer Hours
This morning, Statistics Canada reported that employment jumped by an incredible 93,200 in June. But the total number of hours worked actually declined. In effect, less work was divided up between more...
View ArticleJobs and Inflation: The Missing Link
There seems to be a consensus that the Bank of Canada will raise its target interest rate tomorrow. I thought that last month’s rate hike was premature, so I see no reason for another hike this month....
View ArticleInflation: The 1% Menace?
Between May and June, consumer prices decreased in both absolute and seasonally-adjusted terms. As a result, the annual inflation rate fell to 1.0%, about half what it had been at the start of this...
View ArticleRace and Earnings and the Census
I’ve blogged previously on this topic but it is worth revisiting in light of the Census debate. The gold standard for looking at racial pay gaps is analysis of differences in earnings between Canadian...
View ArticleWhat’s Happening to Wages?
One thing I find a bit annoying over at Statscan is that detailed tables related to a release sometimes appear on the web site a few days after headline numbers are released in the Daily. I was phoned...
View ArticleA Tale of Two Inflations: Canada vs. Ontario
Today’s Consumer Price Index release told a tale of two inflations. The national rate decreased from 1.8% to 1.7% while Ontario’s inflation rate remained at 2.9%, the highest in Canada. Monetary Policy...
View ArticleA hip hop version of the Keynes vs Hayek debate
Here’s a new take on bringing economic theory to the masses — a rap battle between Keynes and Hayek. What’s amazing about it is the amount of solid (if not plain nerdy) content this video packs into...
View ArticleGlobal Wage Crisis
The International Labour Organization has just released its second Global Wage Report, “Wage Policies in Times of Crisis.” The International Trade Union Confederation’s press release follows: 15...
View ArticleInequality, Wages and Debt
Further to my earlier post on how to respond to record household debt, I wrote a longer piece for a wider audience at The Mark. Thanks for the great comments on the post!
View ArticleEconomic Climate for Bargaining
The December 2010 issue of the quarterly Economic Climate for Bargaining publication that I produce is now on CUPE’s website in both English and French. In each issue I summarize developments and...
View ArticleThe Gender Wage Gap Revisited
Statscan have released their regular (about every 5 years) statistical compilation, Women in Canada. In a box in the earnings section – around Table 20- one will find a short summary of a paper by...
View ArticleThe Rise of the Global Elite
“The already wealthy have emerged from the global recession in an even wealthier position. What does the rise of global elites mean to power and influence at home and abroad?” That’s the blurb from...
View ArticleReforming Ontario’s Universities
I have just finished reading a 2009 book entitled Academic Transformation: The Forces Reshaping Higher Education in Ontario. The book, written by Ian Clark, Greg Moran, Michael Skolnik and David...
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