Workforce Trends
BC gains 8,900 jobs in April 2011; unemployment rate dips from 8.1% to 7.9%
Statistics Canada issued its April 2011 Labour Force Survey today. Key stats for British Columbia in April (as compared to March) were:
- a gain of 8,900 jobs;
- a dip in the unemployment rate from 8.1% to 7.9%.
Nationally:
- employment rose by 58,000 in April, mainly in part time.
- the unemployment rate edged down 0.1 percentage points to 7.6%.
Canada’s first national whitepaper on telework published
Today marks the publication of what is being called Canada's first whitepaper to address telworking.
The paper - "WORKshift Canada: the bottom line on telework" - was prepared by Calgary Economic Development, in collaboration with the Telework Research Network.
The April 18, 2011 news release trumpeting the paper's publication sets out the following stats: read more »
Top Issues Facing BC Employers
Vancouver based law firm Bull Housser Tupper has published its "Annual List of Top Issues Facing BC Employers" (December 30, 2010). In order, the five issues are: read more »
"The Facts on Wages and Jobs in B.C." as of October 2010
The BC government issued another instalment of "The Facts on Wages and Jobs in B.C.". The mini-report, which was issued on October 10, 2010 and is based on Statistics Canada numbers, states that: read more »
"Employees Working in Foreign Countries: Personnel Concerns and Other Issues Relating to Expatriates"
Paul Drager, a lawyer at Macleod Dixon, wrote "Employees Working in Foreign Countries: Personnel Concerns and Other Issues Relating to Expatriates" in 1999.
The paper deserves a fresh bookmark, however, because it appears to be one of the only resources available for lawyers as far as the to be alert to in relation to employees being posted to foreign countries.
The specific issues covered are: read more »
Two employer surveys suggest that chill continuing to come off labour market climate in Canada
Two employer surveys released yesterday and reported on by the Vancouver Sun today suggest that the chill is continuing to come off the labour market climate in Canada.
According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of nearly 1,900 Canadian employers: read more »
Air Canada pilot who was forced to retire at age 60 not satisfied with terms of reinstatement
I wrote about the Vilven mandatory retirement case in an August 2009 entry and a September 2009 entry.
Briefly, Mr. Vilven is a pilot with Air Canada who, along with another pilot, was forced to retire at age 60. The pilots responded by filing a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ("CHRT"). The CHRT allowed their complaint in a ruling that calls into question whether it is still permissible for any federally regulated organization to have a mandatory retirement policy. The Air Canada Pilots Association, the pilots' union which supports age 60 mandatory retirement, subsequently filed a judicial review application of the CHRT's ruling.
There was a very short article in today's Globe and Mail newspaper ("Senior Air Canada pilots allege age discrimination") updating this story. According to the article: read more »
667,400 people received regular Employment Insurance benefits in Canada in April 2010
Statistics Canada released the April 2010 employment insurance figures today, which include the following: read more »
Canada gains 25,000 jobs in May, but unemployment rate in British Columbia creeps up to 7.5%
Statistics Canada reported Friday that Canada gained 25,000 jobs in May, the fifth consecutive monthly increase. The June 4, 2010 Labour Force Survey further reported: read more »
