(Canadian) Unemployment rate hits 33-year low

[Tesha]

Source: The Canadian Press

Unemployment rate hits 33-year low

OTTAWA–Canada's economy burst out of the gate in January,
creating 46,400 new jobs and sending the unemployment rate
tumbling to 5.8 per cent from a revised six per cent in
December.

The surprisingly strong job creation – market analysts had
predicted a 10,000 gain – sent the Canadian dollar shooting
above parity, rising 1.32 cents to 100.25 cents US at
midmorning.

"Just when we thought that Canadian employment was finally
showing signs of slowing down, January's employment numbers
bust through expectations once again," commented TD Bank
economist James Marple.

"January's labour force survey points to an economy that has
continued to chug along even as the U.S. teeters on the brink
of recession."

<more>

Read more: http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/301735

[liberal N proud]

1. And they say CONservative agenda doesn't hurt the economy

[apnu]

2. Wow, congrats Canada! (nt)

[DavidDvorkin]

3. I assume those are real and believable numbers

Unlike the ones we (in the US) get from our government.

[Winterblues]

4. Canada has also been running a surplus the last few years

Sort of throws a wrench into that old canard that National Health Care would wreak our economy...Canadians have found they actually save money by providing National Health Care and they have a healthy citizenry. America is just not a very bright nation...

[bossy22]

5. it wouldnt wreck the economy

it would devastate the budget as it stands NOW. Universal care is possible if you re-work the budget and fix some of the bloating costs of other entitlement programs- the problem is there is no political will

[Winterblues]

8. The budget is already in a state of devastation

All it could do is help the crisis America is in. Business would be freed up from the burden of providing Health Insurance for their employees and finally be able to compete Globally where no other business is under such burdens. America is the only westernized country that doesn't take care of it's citizens and keep their nation healthy..

[bossy22]

11. i agree

our bugdet is in complete shambles (whic his different from the economy, it seemed you confused the two, buti may be wrong). we need to fix our budget and then we can work out a universal plan. in the long run it will help the economy

[truedelphi]

46. Yep get rid of the damn entitlement policies

Especially all policies entitling Halliburton, and Blackwater Contracts at the expense of this country's better interests

[area51]

49. You've just made the argument to transition to single-payer

It actually costs less to administer healthcare in a single-payer plan than our pro-death corporate welfare system of private insurance.

[LynnTheDem]

42. And meanwhile the US pays more per capita for healthcare

than anywhere in the world.

So maybe it would be a bright idea to do proper Canadian-style universal healthcare NOW...as it's cheaper than what the US (sort of)has.

[ReformedChris]

6. Boy, that socialized healthcare system sure hinders business and free enterprise...

:sarcasm:

Very good news for our friends up north. Hopefully we can get a healthcare plan that will keep American workers healthy and ensure small business is no longer a slave to HMO's. Good Luck and Keep it up!

[bossy22]

7. the medical profession can be thanked for that

[bossy22]

9. btw, canada does not have socialized medicine

they have universal care. In socialized medicine basically the doctor is an employee of the government, it creates a beauracracy. Im against socialized medicne but for universal care. Canada has managed universal care without socialzed medicine

[ReformedChris]

24. I know, but when you hear Conservatives and Pundits complain, its branded as "Socialized" nt

[bossy22]

25. eventually people will realize

that the conservitive mantra is worth its weight in piss and will finally see the difference...and i feel that time is now

[ConcernedCanuk]

14. Won't happen down there, too many are still drinking the Kool-Aid

.
.
.

There are still just too many USA citizens that think they are better than the rest of the world.

So they wouldn't listen to a country like Canada that has only about 1/10th of the USA's population.

We's just dumb Canuks that all live in igloos.

Suits me fine if y'all think that way - I don't really want anyone that voted for, or puts up with the likes of the BFEE in my country.

But Harper scares me.

Who knows what deals he has made with the BFEE.

[bossy22]

17. i disagree

i think universal care is comming, the majority of americans want it, it will eventually becomea reality, maybe not for the next president but i bet in 10 years we will have some from of universal coverage

[Blue_Tires]

26. you should ditch your currency and switch over to the dollar!

then you all can afford air conditioning for your igloos!:dunce: :silly: :scared: B-)

[Binka]

39. I Love You CC Can I Move To Canada And Be Your Love Slave?

I'm only kidding...a very small bit.

[importDavid]

10. We (Canadians) also don't spend 1/2 of our national budget...

...on the military and wars.

Do you have any idea how much money you would have saved nationally if you had never gone to war with Iraq?

Sigh.

[bossy22]

13. its less than half of the budget

much less, about 600 billion in a 3 trillion dollar budget goes to defense (more money is actually spent on social security then on defense)you are look at between 15-20% of the budget is spent on defense (including the wars) over 50% of our budget is spent on entitlement and social programs. I do support a strong military and i think we should end the wars (which would save about 200 billion dollars) but i dont support lowering the defense buget. i think its needed to have a strong and effective military

in fact, percentage wise, social security and entitlement programs will start taking an even bigger percent of the budger relative to defense.

[Warren Stupidity]

48. Depends on who's numbers you believe.

The official budget tosses the SS trust fund spending into the 'budget', and has since '68, in order to make the military spending not look quite so bad, and to enable the hiding of out deficit spending using trust fund surplusses. In addition the official military budget does not include somewhere between 100-150B pushed into other programs (e.g. the energy department.) Costs associated with veterans are tossed over to the social services side when in fact these substantial costs are very much part of our total military spending.

Do we need a strong military? A better question is what exactly do we need our military for? Why, for example, are we supporting military bases in 130 nations? How about we redefine what it is our military forces should be well prepared and capable of doing? How about this: defense of our national borders, and cooperative defense of international trade routes through regional and international organizations. We could easily pay for that sort of military at around 1/5 of what we currently pay.

[Tesha]

16. "We know! We know!"

> Do you have any idea how much money you would have saved nationally if you had never gone to war with Iraq?

"We know! We know!"



Meanwhile, we have this bozo in charge:



Tesha

[bossy22]

19. not as much as you'd think

about 500->700 billion dollars since 2003. since 2003 budget spending has been aout 14 trillion dollars. So it wouldnt have been THAT much, but then again, anything counts, especially when you get that "anything" from something that shouldnt have been done in the first place

[Tesha]

21. And how much does *THE ENTIRE REST OF THE WORLD SPEND*?

http://www.prioritiesnh.org/



http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_10002131.shtml (2005 numbers)

http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolitics/ArmsTrade/Spending.asp



Tesha

[bossy22]

23. according to global issues

only 650 billion dollars are spent on defense all together (including the wars) and with a 3 trillion dollar budget i cant see how the top pie chart is correct- and what about social security, about the same is spent on social security as is defense. the lower chart i can agree with you on, but i find it kinda of pointless. As the lone superpower we are expected to spend more on military then most countries by high relative amounts.

[NoGOPZone]

27. The top chart is for the discretionary budget.

covering expense not written into law. It is an accurate chart of what it is intended to show. Over half this budget goes to the military.

[Tesha]

28. Why does the world *NEED* a "superpower"? (NT)

[bossy22]

30. the world doesnt need a super power

but its beneficial for a country to be one as long as it doesnt abuse the power (the opposite what we do). Superpower doesnt always refer to the military. If you are looking at military alone, we can be considered by some to be a Hyperpower- since there is no country really even close to our military capabilities. Remember more than 1/2 the world's aircraft carriers start with U.S.S. the air power of the United states (in planes and force) is greater than the rest of the world combined. I believe thats a good thing- as long as we tame ourselves. By being a superpower we can lead the world (not with this idiot in office).

[struggle4progress]

50. The Chaos in America’s Vast Security Budget (Winslow Wheeler via CDI)

February 4, 2008
"The Chaos in America’s Vast Security Budget"
Winslow T. Wheeler

... George W. Bush’s budget as shown today by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) says the Pentagon request is $518.3 billion ... The $518.3 billion is incomplete; it does not include $70 billion requested to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ... But that .. does not include enough money to fight the wars for more than a few months in 2009 ... In either case, the amount requested .. for the wars is off by $70 billion to $140 billion.

This barely scratches the surface ... The Department of Energy (DOE) has requested $17.1 billion for nuclear weapons .. related activities ... The President is requesting an additional $3.2 billion for miscellaneous defense costs ... If you add all the official estimates from OMB for the above, you get a total of $608.6 for 2009 ... But none of the numbers are right; ... $608.6 billion is not the number OMB shows for the combined total for these activities, $611.1 billion ... Your guess is as good as mine ...

Any inclusive definition of U.S. security spending should .. should include the budget for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): add $40.1 billion ... There are also important security costs in the budget of the State Department ... add $38.4 billion ... U.S. security expenses include the human costs of past and current wars; add another $91.3 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs ...

We should add the share of the interest for the national debt that can be attributed to national defense spending .. $54.5 billion ... There’s .. the cost to the Treasury for military retirement .. $12.1 billion ...

Get the point? ...

http://www.cdi.org/program/document.cfm?DocumentID=4199&from_page=../index.cfm

[Megahurtz]

37. Yeah On That Note All We Need Now

is fucking McDrain at the helm. :sarcasm:

[chelaque liberal]

12. "Just when we thought that Canadian employment was finally showing signs of slowing down..."

Almost sounds like the Onion.

Good for Canada!

[ohio2007]

15. 6 % drop to 5.8%

whats the US current rate?
5.7%

[Tesha]

18. Perhaps, but our rate is a fraud; the real unemployment rate is much higher.

And then there's "underemployment": all those former
engineers now saying "Welcome to Wal*Mart!"

Tesha

[bossy22]

20. dont forget

all those disouraged workers too...though i dont know if the canadien government counts its unemployment like ours

[montanaliberaldem]

22. Canada is experiencing a real boom in upgrading their infrastructure.

I have brothers who work big construction and there is a lot of building going on in Canada to retrofit industry to cut down on pollution. Another interesting fact is that they employ Canadians first and hire foreigners if there are no qualified or available Canadians to do the work. American businesses look for cheap labor first. And all that bull about forcing businesses to lower emissiona crippling our economy? Could they be lying to us? I wonder....

[Doctor Cynic]

36. That's not true either.

There is massive condo/office construction in most major cities, and there are concrete plans for massive upgrades to transit systems.

Your second point is not true. Last summer Microsoft opened an office in Vancouver and hired 800 computer geeks mainly because visas are easier to get and H1B isn't an issue. And due to geography it's harder to hire cheap foreign labour...there are still thousands of Mexicans, Indians, South Americans, etc working on construction projects and picking fruit, though.

[arikara]

32. We don't have an accurate count in Canada either

As soon as someone is off EI (unemployment insurance)... which has been shortened over the years by the way... they are no longer counted. The new jobs they are so gleefully touting are in the main low paying part-time mcjobs except for certain areas which are not suitable for many people, such as construction and the tar sands.

The client base for the food banks steadily rises in spite of this so-called record employment. More homeless on the streets, more underemployed, more families that can't make ends meet with the lower pay and higher costs. But "they" do manage to make it sound so good.

[bossy22]

33. sounds like the way we count things too

[Doctor Cynic]

34. We need to address the issue why more people are on food banks while the economy is growing.

...but I'm hopeful provinces will show how it's done while the CONs are AWOL.

BTW, your reading skills needs some work:

The economy produced jobs last month in a wide array of industries, with professional and technical services and construction leading the way.

As well, most new jobs were full-time and in the private sector.

[arikara]

40. I didn't click the link. My bad...

Excuse my cynicism but I'm involved with the food bank and what I said is true here. High cost of living, lots of mcjobs, not enough liveable wage employment created. Yet the government is constantly patting themselves on the back.

My knee jerk reaction to your BTW comment was not kind but I'll send you a hug instead of a rude comment.

:hug:

[originalpckelly]

45. Actually, our rate is 5% and that's up from 4.8%.

Our country routinely has lower unemployment than many other western nations.

[Tesha]

29. All these replies and no once has yet offered a "rec"?

C'mon DU, where's the love??? ;)

Tesha

[GliderGuider]

31. only too pleased to rec

(I'm GG's partner, BTW)

I'll be starting a new job next week. So, seeing as I'll be helping bring the number down a smidge for the next report, allow me to make the first recommendation.

[Tesha]

35. Thanks! (NT)

[Canuckistanian]

44. Congrats!

Remember me? We met last year at Darcy McGee's!

And I also found gainful employment in January.

Glad to be part of the trend!

[GliderGuider]

51. Congratulations!

Of course, I remember you. I'll remind Paul to give you a heads-up next time he gives his ITEOTWAWKI presentation. It's evolved quite a bit.

I'm supposed to start at CFIA next week. There's been a hiccough with x-ferring my federal security clearance to a different agency. *sigh* So I don't have a firm start date.
You don't think it could have anything to do with the massive file that CSIS has on me, do you?

O8)

[elehhhhna]

38. How do they compete w/ China & India? We are told that's the ONLY way

to create more jobs.


Maybe not, eh?

[ConcernedCanuk]

41. I'm not sure how they calculate unemployment, but in my area it's 10.9%

.
.
.

In Toronto, it's 6.7%

Link for Northern Ontario (my area)

Link for Toronto

These figures are updated every 2 -3 weeks

I see Southern Coastal British Columbia is only 4.9%

Here's a main link for anyone that wants to check out a specific region in Canada >> http://srv200.services.gc.ca/iiws/eiregions/canadaei.aspx

[Canuckistanian]

43. And I'm proof

I just got a new job in January. After being basically unemployed since June, 2007.

[Rockerdem]

47. It's nice to be energy-rich

Those that are, they're sitting on top of the world. Pumping out carbon for the rest of us schmucks.

[Blue_Tires]

52. is it too late for me to move up that way???