In this edition:
- Unemployment rate hits new record low
- Vale announces $1.25m investment in Port Colborne
- Rogers outage hits banks, businesses and consumers
- Strike notice at Via Rail
Unemployment rate hits new record low
Canadian employment fell by 43,000 (-0.2%) in June. The unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points to a new record low of 4.9%, as fewer people searched for work.
The employment loss was almost entirely due to a decrease among workers aged 55 and older. Across industries, a decline in the services-producing sector, particularly in retail trade, was moderated by gains in the goods-producing sector.
Self-employment declined, while the number of employees in both the public and the private sectors held steady.
Employment in Niagara declined by 3,200 to 228,200, while the overall labour force dropped by 4,700. The local unemployment rate continued to fall, reaching 4.5% in June, down from 5% in May.
In a statement, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli remarked that the numbers were “a reminder that the government’s efforts to attract job creators to our province is now more important than ever.”
Click here to access the interactive Labour Force Survey map.
Vale Canada announces $1.25 million investment in Port Colborne
At an announcement on West Street today, Vale Canada Limited announced a 1.25-million-dollar community improvement fund designed to support local economic development and community connectivity in the City of Port Colborne, benefiting both residents and visitors to the city.
The 1.25-million-dollar fund will be allocated between five projects across the City, focusing on city-wide investments in infrastructure, specifically around community culture and recreational spaces:
- Naming rights to Port Colborne’s future Waterfront Centre for 15 years
- Nickel Beach improvements, including new washroom facilities
- Lockview Park Redevelopment
- New Welland Street Trail, connecting Nickel Beach to Port Colborne’s downtown; and
- Captain level sponsor of the annual Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival for the next 15 years
Learn more about these Community Improvement Fund projects.
Rogers network outage across Canada hits banks, businesses and consumers
A major outage of Rogers Communications Inc’s (RCIb.TO) mobile and internet networks caused widespread disruptions across Canada on Friday, affecting banks, police emergency lines and customers in the second outage to hit one of the country’s biggest telecom providers in 15 months.
Customers gathered at coffee shops and public libraries to access alternate networks, while financial institutions reported problems with everything from automated machines to cashless payment systems.
“We are currently experiencing an outage across our wireline and wireless networks and our technical teams are working hard to restore services as quickly as possible,” Rogers said in a statement.
The outage is likely to add to concerns about competition in the industry that is dominated by Rogers.
Unifor issues strike notice at Via Rail, workers could be off Monday
The union representing some 2,400 Via Rail Canada employees has issued a strike notice that could see workers off the job on Monday.
Unifor represents Via employees working in its stations, on board its trains, in its maintenance centres, at its customer centre and in administrative offices.
The union says issuing strike notice was a serious step, demonstrating the bargaining committee’s commitment to reaching a settlement on behalf of the union members.
The railway says it may be forced to suspend services across its network at 12:01 a.m. ET on July 11, if no agreement is reached.
Reading Recommendations
Canada’s jobless rate drops to record low of 4.9%: What you need to know
Financial Post
Canada’s red-hot labour market cooled a little in June. It’s now only historically hot.
Once the big brains at the Bank of Canada and elsewhere get the current inflationary episode figured out, they probably will spend some time thinking about a new working definition of full employment.
Ahead of the Great Recession a decade ago, a number of around six per cent was thought to be about as low as Canada’s jobless rate could go before that much hiring started to create more demand than the economy could handle, and thus stoked inflation.
With that in mind, consider the unemployment rate in June: 4.9 per cent, compared with 5.1 per cent in May.
Through the Daily Updates, the GNCC aims to deliver important business news in a timely manner. We disseminate all news and information we feel will be important to businesses. Inclusion in the Daily Update is not an endorsement by the GNCC.
