Canadian Sellers Facing Strong Headwinds

[pierrelebel]

Things are getting more difficult for Canadian sellers.  The weak economy is causing employement to drop and unemployment rate to increase.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/jobs/canada-loses-54500-jobs-in-march-jobl... 

in March, Canada has lost 54,000 jobs

Unemployment rate has gone up to 7.2%

Let's face it: if our customers lose their jobs, it will not be easy to sell them anything.

For more details: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130405/dq130405a-eng.htm?HPA 

[pierrelebel]

Much has been written about the Canada Economic Action Plan. Tens of millions of dollars are wasted every year by the federal government in TV and newspaper and magazine advertisements telling us about the Plan!

Employment in Canada has increased by 203,000 jobs or 1.2% in the last year. (see link above)

In the meantime, the Canadian population is estimated to growth at the same rate of 1.2%

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-520-x/2010001/t437-eng.htm 

Conclusion: things will not get any better if job growth does not improve.

The well advertised plan is NOT working.  Time to stop blaming a recession that ended four years ago and get a new plan in action, one that will work, one that will put Canadians back to work.

[thebarterersdog]

In the last four years, we have had six American owned companies who were doing very well here, pull out of our area, closing plants to move to the States to take advantage of Obama's incentives to have American companies stay in the U.S. 

Three of these plants have now closed in the States and one other is actually bringing Canadian workers down to their locations to train their workers on how to work the machinery to the point of being productive. 

My husband was one who could have lost his job of 38 years. Luckily for him, he was able to retire before they closed their doors to move. In doing so, he kept his pension and all benefits. Not all were as lucky. 

John Deere here was the only plant making money in Ontario. Yet, they pulled up roots and moved. So many now out of work. A big plant in a nearby city is about to do the same. 

It's very hard all around. In our area, the age of unionized jobs are disappearing and the wage rate has dropped by $10. No longer do you see high paying jobs for trades people. 

When the GM plant closes in 2016, there will be another huge job loss for the Region.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Selling globally, small areas have no impact on me. One area goes down, another goes. General figures for Canada are vastly misleading.

An understanding of the country is in order. That smacked me upside the head with a frozen whitefish back in Feb when I ws in Toronto and Belleville. Out here in the flatlands of Bugtussle this looks like a big country. Not so much.

In Belleville I looked at a map. Draw a semi circle of about 500 kliks with Belleville at the centre. That captures darn near HALF the population of Canada. Looking out the window of my hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Sheraton, I could see more people than live between Toronto and Vancouver Island.

Canada, for all intents and purposes, has not changed since 1867. It is still Upper and Lower Canada.

Out here in the flatlands of Bugtussle, unemployment is a figment of the imagination. The only unemployed are those who choose not to work. Jobs go begging, aka, I'm not gonna do that. Jobs up north go begging, aka, I'm not moving there.

I dunno. I'm not so sure it is not just a case of people being lazy. The money to live on exists within society. There are many and varied income streams.

The unemployment rate is fictitious on another front. There is the labour participation rate. The % of Cdns participating in the labour pool is higher than in the USA. Move our participation rate down to theirs, and, the unemployment rate would drop significantly.

A lot of these people get counted even though they really do not want a job.

Pierre, you and I shall march into a gov't employment office and register for job search. We'll get counted. Do you want to work for someone? Do I?

[bb_cool_stuff]

Funny Pierre mentioned this.

We came in to a very big surprise today.

We have NO appointments on the docket  & there is a meeting scheduled with the Department Head, Union & Upper Management at 9 am.

This can't be good.

Will keep you posted.

[pierrelebel]

"Looking out the window of my hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Sheraton"

32nd floor in Belleville ?

What were you smoking? 😉

[bb_cool_stuff]

Getting interesting & we are getting a little anxious.

Just got our instructions.

High seniority to one meeting room, low seniority to another.

[nan*55]

Well thing are different here in Sask. There are jobs available but no workers 😞

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Pierre, There is no 32nd floor at the Sheraton in Belleville? WAIT! That was in Toronto across the street from City Hall.

Pierre, I will out your way for a couple days later this month. House hunting.

[pierrelebel]

You will find a great selection of homes for sale under $300,000 in Belleville.  This is not a typo: under $300,000

http://belleville.kijiji.ca/f-real-estate-houses-for-sale-Belleville-W0QQCatIdZ35QQLocationZ1700130 

[tobyshitzu]

When you look at the unemployment rate since we got rid of Trudeau, there has only been one 3 year stretch in 30 years where the rate was more then trivially lower then now (and not by much)

Source: tradingeconomics.com

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-rate

[pierrelebel]

Hi Toby - I was wondering how long it would take you to come to the defence of the Harper government! 😉

[pierrelebel]

Why go back to Pierre Trudeau in the last century?  Just check out what has happened since Harper took power seven years ago:

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/charts/canada-unemployment-rate.png?s=canlxemr&d1=20060101&d2=201304... 

Reality is that, despite being out of the recession for four years, unemployment rate today is higher than when Harper took office.

Nothing political here.  Just the facts.  It does not mean another party could have done better or worse.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Pierre, I am well aware of the Belleville housing market. Spent a few days in Feb looking. I have already fired one agent and hired another, in Belleville.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Ouch !!! Reality Strikes Again, unfortunately it has now hit our department.

I'm sure others will follow shortly. Same thing happened at North York General.

Top five of the batting order, I'm number four, are safe at home. The final two are out at home effective immediately.

Obviously this was already in the works at the two cut back had their payout cheques ready for them. I guess the settlement was negotiated with the Union previously as Union Management was also present. How they kept this so secret is beyond me.

Midday shift eliminated, now open six days a week instead of five. Three rotating 12 1/2 hour shifts Monday to Wednesday & Thursday to Saturday. Three days on, four off. Shifts similiar to this, in other departments, are already in place.

All hits home now as we could not find the appointment book yesterday, no big deal it does get misplaced, but we could not bring up todays appointments on the computer.

Reality sux sometimes.

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

3 1/2 years ago, I couldn't take it  anymore. I couldn't do it again. I am fortunate I can make this eBay gig work.

12 1/2 hour shifts? That equal no life. 4 days off does not work either. You spend the first day recovering from the three days. Been there, done the shift work.

My Mrs is in a similar spot Up North. Screw it and she quit. Out of the top five, last July, only one will be left this July. The one that will be left is not qualified to be there. It will either be for that person to quit, or have a nervous breakdown because of the job.

The population of the town is too small to support the employment needs of the community. No one wants to live there because it is isolated and shrinking. Jobs go begging and the people that are left are quitting because they cannot take the relentless pressure any more.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Your gig with MLCC must of been tough. Much like Brand's twelve hour shifts.

I experienced the twelve hour shifts a couple years back when MIT was in dire need of First Responders during the flood fight. RHA send us out, at our regular wage as we were needed.

That was mentally tough as they emptied the Welfare Files of people that were considered employable & sent them out to work. Frustrating as the majority did not want to do any work.

Our job is a little easier. Established protocol, nothing physical. Just reality in Health Services.

Both my kids have worked twelve hour shifts since graduation. 

[inuk_the_polar_bear]

Not tough, that is not it. It was a different lifestyle. A huge number of marital breakdowns as spouse could not handle the weird hours.

BB, where are you. You made reference to North York, yet yer listings, I clicked on the Palomino T-shirt and that made me laugh, say Winnipeg? Are you with WRHA?

[renfrewite]

The only way to make Canada better, is to get rid of Harper.  He is selling this country off piece by piece.  One person said the job market has not really changed, well I disagree.  Harpers stats may show that there are lots of jobs, but the difference is the type of jobs.  Before he came to office the job market had lots of high paying jobs, now a lot of the jobs are at Walmart, Tim Hortons or McDonalds, big difference in pay rate there, from a trade job or plant type job. 

Now he wants to take unemployment insurance away as well, or make it next to impossible to get.  We pay into unemployment insurance it's not like it's his to control, it's our own money.  If he wants to do that, then eveyone should have the option to pay into or not then, especially seasonal workers.  I'm sure a seasonal worker won't want to take a job 30 miles away at a McDonalds during the winter months, and that's what they will be forced to do through Harpers new plan.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Yes I've with the WRHA for the last sixteen years. Was a victim of the third wave of Chretien/Harris cuts at North York General & the only positions open at the time were in Winnipeg & Penticton.

WHRA would move us out at no cost while the Okanagan position would only pay costs when you passed your probationary period.

Took the position back in Winnipeg, family joined me four months later as i didn't want my kids uprooted until they finished school for the year.

My wife & I are both born & bred Winnipeggers, I'm from Niakwa Park, she's from EK, but i met her at UBC.

Funny you mention the Sheraton in downtown TO. I bartended there for three months between positions. The Palomino Club, I think we are old enough to remember when it was called Pierre's, Ko Ko's & Gabby's. Not sure of the order though.