Jobs Creation Crash - July 2012

Canadian Jobs Data July 2012

Statistics Canada reports that the Canadian economy lost 30,000 jobs during the month of July 2012. The unemployment rate rose to 7.3% compared to 7.2% in the month of June.

Slightly worse than the typical hiring patterns, there has been a small decrease in jobs during 3 out of 4 July's since 2008. Job seekers and recruiters can look forward to September and October which tend to be peak hiring months.

Significantly influenced by the American economy, the U.S. Bureau of  Labor Statistics reported last week that July’s nonfarm employment rose by 163,000. While the absolute number of new American jobs seems high compared to Canadian job creation, it is really a lack luster economic performance given the US total population is roughly 10 times that of Canada. Much to the chagrin of Democrats and President Obama, the US unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3 percent and unemployed in United States (12.8 million) has shown little improvement in 2012. Jobs and the economy are the number one election issue for the upcoming mid-term contest.

In the most recent Statistics Canada Employment & Unemployment report, Canadian average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees are $894.61, up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis.

While, average hours worked per week can contribute to increases in earnings. Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 32.9 hours per week, unchanged from 12 months earlier.

So far this year, construction, education and retail workers have experienced the greatest wage gains while health care and social assistance workers experienced wage declines. This might be explained by hourly wage changes but also by offsetting increases and reductions in hours worked per week in these employment sectors.


Canadian Jobs in Thousands



Provincial Summary

Quebec Employment fell by 29,000 in July, all in part-time work which is not surprising given that every part-time summer worker appeared to be protesting and partying in the streets of Montreal.  Quebec's unemployment rate for the month was 7.6%.


British Columbia jobs fell by 15,000 in July, reflected by an unemployment rate up 0.4 percentage points to 7.0%.

Manitoba employment declined by 3,300 and the unemployment rate increased by 0.5 percentage points to 5.7%, unchanged from a year ago.

Newfoundland and Labrador was down 3,200 in July, with job levels similar to  July 2011.

Ontario unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points to 7.9%, as more people entered the workforce. Employment gains in Ontario were a meager 47,000 (+0.7%) on a year over year basis.

Alberta has the lowest unemployment rate (4.6%) despite flat employment growth in June and July.  Albert's employment increased by 2.2% since July 2011, the highest growth rate of all provinces.

Hint:  The best agency recruiters will catch the wave of hiring in September and October because they grind out key performance activities during the month of August.  Don't delay your candidate interviews, resume presentations, recruitment calls, sales calls, sendouts and planning  - just because its summer. 

Steve Jones
Staffing Leadership

Workplace Loyalty & Motivation

It’s a simple equation. Employees who care about their work and their workplace are more likely to perform better. That’s why we take our “Employee Satisfaction” surveys seriously. Each year, every division of Design Group Staffing Inc. conducts a comprehensive employee satisfaction survey. We ask confidential opinion questions about supervisors, teams, divisions, executives, training, business processes, tools and technology. We set goals for employee satisfaction within our business plans. Expectations are defined within each manager’s performance appraisal and the actual results are factored into our management compensation and bonus plans. Here are six important lessons we have learned.

1. Keep Employees Happy & Keep Employees
It may seem like a daunting task but managing for employee satisfaction doesn’t have to be so elusive. At our company, a rookie employee typically becomes a net contributor within his/her second year on the job and then productivity continues to grow almost indefinitely. We know from experience that high employee satisfaction is the most significant factor affecting employee retention and that translates into higher per desk performance. Improve satisfaction, reduce turn-over and the results are profound.

2. Encourage Curiosity & Engagement
Technical skills and experience are an important part of any position. Often, the employees with the highest level of technical competency and experience have great ideas on how to improve but they don’t mention anything because they are stifled by a corporate culture of reluctance to change. We have the power to create an environment where employees feel comfortable, even excited, to learn more and offer new ideas. Foster a culture where questions and suggestions are encouraged and employees will feel like an important part of the “big picture”. Engaged employees translate into increased productivity.

3. Forgive Mistakes
Perhaps even you have made one or two (or three or four…) mistakes in your day. We all have, and so will our best employees. But they shouldn’t be afraid to make an occasional mistake. Accept mistakes as a learning opportunity. Encourage employees to try new things and, yes, make mistakes – so that they can learn from them. When employees aren’t afraid of being scolded by the boss for making a mistake, they’re more likely to embrace the mistake and truly learn.

4. Have Their Backs
Ever hear of the phrase “The customer is always right?” It’s an interesting catch phrase however, from time to time, your organization may have a customer that…well…isn’t. When an employee has followed procedure and tried their best, it’s important to “have his or her back” when dealing with an aggressive or dissatisfied customer. The same goes for when an employee who needs assistance with something like a faulty computer, or a tricky health benefits claim, or is in need of scheduling flexibility. Don’t let your employees take a beating from customers, or silly administrative policies. Show some empathy and support and your satisfied employee will return your thoughtfulness in spades.

5. Show Respect
This one probably shouldn’t have to be mentioned – it should be automatically ingrained in every organizational culture. It is simply the right thing to do, and it can also have a profound impact on employee morale. Act like a professional, and show professional and personal respect to your team.

6. Give Recognition
Taking a few minutes to call attention to something your team did, or to show your personal interest in your employees can make the world of a difference in how people feel about their work and their employer. Show recognition for special days, anniversaries and achievements. People don’t quit companies, they usually quit their supervisor. A small amount of interest can make a big impact.

At The People Bank, we complete our annual Employee Satisfaction Survey to ensure we’re doing things right with our team. Employee satisfaction leads to increased results for you. If you are interested in learning more about our survey or how we ensure our best-of-class employees feel like superstars, contact our team. We’d be happy to talk to you.

Steve Jones Blog can also be found on The People Bank website at http://www.thepeoplebank.com/