[eureka]

Those were recession highs, Peck, and many of the jobs have never been recovered. Many of those that have been are part time or "entrepreneurial." It would not surprise me to hear that the the total of unemployment and underemployment now is the highest since the Depression.

Unemployment now is structural and nothing is being done about it as the Right Wing Juggernaut that has gripped the West since that 1980s recession adheres to its outdated and always wrong idea of a "market."

[peck420]

Lol.

Show the numbers.

Times have been much worse in Canada...twice in my own lifetime.

[RUEZ]

peck420 wrote:

Lol.

Show the numbers.

Times have been much worse in Canada...twice in my own lifetime.

So true. In Prince George many of the larger sawmills have shut down. Those were high paying lifetime jobs. Despite that, we are sitting at 7 percent unemployment. That beats the hell out of what people faced when I was growing up in the 80's.

[Lemmy]

Furthermore, it's typical for labour markets to recover much more slowly after a recession than the rest of the economy. Also, since the recovery from the 2008-09 recession has been slower than most turn-arounds, it's natural to expect the labour market lag to longer and more pronounced.

Eureka is right about one thing, however. There is a "new" sort of structural unemployment in the west, but that's largely been created by technology, not political ideal. Most jobs lost to structural unemployment over the past 30 years have been jobs lost to robots.

[andyt]

So you're saying no manufacturing jobs lost to Asia?

[eureka]

I think, lemmy, that you know structural unemployment is far more insidious and complex than that. You are better qualified than I to describe it so I will leave it to you, if you so choose.

I would say that the structural unemployment is the consequence of the long term unemployment that persists in the Western world.

Further, while the unemployment of the early 1980s and 90s was higher than now, those were recessionary peaks and not a reflection, in themselves, of long term trends.

[peck420]

Andy, I would say that Asia is more automated than Canada. From my limited experience with manufacturing in AB, BC, SK., and MB (construction products).

Lemmy, the push for automation is also driven by employees(actions) and consumers(demands) as much as it is by employers. It reduces costs, removes interruptions, and (usually) provides a more consistent end product, all culminating in a cheaper product.

[Lemmy]

andyt wrote:

So you're saying no manufacturing jobs lost to Asia?

No, I'm saying it's more complicated than that. There are many factors leading to declining manufacturing jobs.

[andyt]

Quote:

Occupy Toronto sets up camp in Queen's Park

Some Occupy Toronto protesters are setting up camp in Queen's Park.
The protesters said they are relocating from St. James Park — where demonstrators have been residing — because Queen's Park, the site of the Ontario legislature, has more political clout.
Protester John Erb said they will make their presence a reminder for politicians at Queen's Park.
"We decided to have a parade march up here and take this park so that every day we can remind the MPPs that we're here and we aren't going anywhere," Erb said.
Erb added that space is becoming an issue at St. James Park, east of downtown near Church Street and King Street.
"We decided that we have definitely outgrown St. James Park. We have far too many people there, it's too popular. We have tourists coming in all the time and we need more space," he said.
The majority of protesters said they will remain in St. James Park for the time being but are discussing whether they will all decide to relocate at some point.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said Wednesday that it was time for the protesters to "move on."

Good for them, but really Parliament hill is where the focus should be.