Are Good Jobs Disappearing in Canada ?

[rvijay]

http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/01/26/canadian-wages050126.html

[organica]

This is infuriating & depressing as hell. :(

[rvijay]

Organica, I am so glad you came here. This report seems to be the bottomline. It is official and spellsout everything you said and complained about the Canadian Job Scene here. I am very surprised that they admit it so openly.

On a different note, I had another post before above a local Vegan Grocery store closing somewhere here. Today, I saw the manager of that store working in another grocery store for lesser money. This store also sells meat. I felt very sorry for him.

Related comments from others here are welcome.

Vijay

[meatless]

Yes, that story reflects what I see. I consider myself fortunate to be employed.

I keep very close tabs on the job market here (as I am always looking for a better opportunity) and it's pretty dire. I have a degree and a couple years of professional work experience (went right from university to being semi-management in my field) and 60 job applications later I still haven't had an interview.

But I am better off than many of those who graduated with me. Many of them are stuck in retail, temp work, and teaching overseas because there just aren't enough decent jobs for people who have invested four-six years and tens of thousands of dollars into their education.

It's much more accute among those under 35 too, ironically, the most educated group.

[rvijay]

On seeing reports like this one needs to become proactive. Have a lot lesser expectations in life. Be prepared to live with a lot less basics, even interms of food and housing etc., Also, let us face it, if this is the case, starting a family, specially Children is not a good idea. One needs to find internal happiness deep within oneself and also use spiritual principles..

If one is unemployed or has free time and no money, then there are several great sites online and one can learn excellent new skills and great info. Knowledge is extremely valuable.

Having backup plans and considering several worst case scenarios also becomes very vital at such times.

Security guards at my local Dollar Store are another significant trend. If people think of robbing dollar stores then it is an indicator of the status of the economy.

Vijay

[Ludi]

This is a time when people need to work together with their friends and family to pool resources, if possible.

[rvijay]

This sounds scary but true. When the economy gets real bad, value for currency doesn't exist. People then start to exchange goods and services. This is called the Barter System.

I hope someone here would invite Soilman and he would join us here. He had foreseen all this a long time ago.

(I honestly wish that everyone here is wrong and normal sweet life as we all know becomes possible.)

Vijay

[meatless]

I am building up a business on the side of my full time job. You can't count on anyone but yourself.

My husband and I are avid budgeters and planners.

[kristadb]

I've decided to take another approach to life. I'm going to eat poorly and not exercise. That way, I'll die early and not need to worry about saving any money :D

If I happen to live longer then expected, I will donate myself to experimental medical procedures. Considering I'll be old and living on borrowed time, some experimentation would be interesting :D

[organica]

If I happen to live longer then expected, I will donate myself to experimental medical procedures. Considering I'll be old and living on borrowed time, some experimentation would be interesting :D

Funny you should say that. I'm looking into being a mock patient for doctors-in-training to learn to give pap smears, draw blood & the like. Can't find a paying job despite 2 degrees, & a friend who also does this says while it is unpleasant, the money is good.

[organica]

Security guards at my local Dollar Store are another significant trend. If people think of robbing dollar stores then it is an indicator of the status of the economy.

Vijay

Vijay, that is a very significant observation.
I feel very helpless in this economy as all of my skills are dependent on a paying employer wanting to use them (I have a BA & a Broadcasting diploma).
I admire people like Ludi who grows much of her own food, is self-employed & very frugal. :)
I also admire you Vijay for these excellent threads in Frugal Forum. :angel:

[rvijay]

Organica, you are very welcome. Give the mock patient thing a shot if you feel like it. But also read on the subject on the internet as much as possible. There are a lot of waivers to sign and in some cases drugs are injected into the patient I heard. It is good to know in advance, what kind of papers one is signing as everything can happen so fast and there can be a feeling of being rushed thru.

organica, inspite of all your challenges I am glad that you volunteer as an announcer and include animal friendly mesages where possible in your broadcasts. Someone recently told me that there is a lot of Govt. housing in Halifax and it is easy to get Govt. Housing. Perhaps you can check on that.

Best Regards,

Vijay

[rvijay]

Organica, here is another great tip. This is just my personal experience. Listen to CBC Radio. They seem to have more information, take their time and explain things. On TV, they have to show lots of images etc., and are busy making the show. I feel that a good radio station is far better than watching TV.

On the same token Shortwave radio is even much better.

Vijay

[Walter]

Are Good Jobs Disappearing in Canada ?
Yes, they are.

[meatless]

Yes, they are.


:kiss:

[newstars]

Most definitely. My Business Management diploma has so far gotten me a 1 month contract position as stock boy at the LCBO as well as an interview at Starbucks and a phone screening with Royal Bank, haha. I'm looking for any sort of work to help fund my business as i am an entreprenuer as well. (best of luck to you meatless.) I'm convinced that half the jobs listed on workopolis.com are fake. A good number of them are scams or pyramid schemes. It seems like the only way to get a job these days is to have a connection.

Hooray for the exploitation of cheap labour abroad. Thanks to the richest few (including our very own primeminister who ran his company out of Barbados to avoid paying Canadian taxes and providing Canadians with jobs), our job market sucks the big one.

[Qwerks]

Yeah, they're pretty much gone for newcomers. After an exhaustive year long search for a decent job I gave up and took the one I have now, a job with a great deal of responsibility=> $20K. I had been offered several jobs before, involving cash handling, which paid around $18K. I worked with a young man who was newly employed in residential construction and he was earning even less, and alot of the people in my neighbourhood are trying to get by on two or three hundred a week.

I will be attempting to start my own business once I'm fully back on my feet, and I encourage everyone to do the same. It may be a blessing in disguise in the long run...you never know.

[rvijay]

At this rate how does one view the general job situation 3 to 10 years down the road? Will it improve or will it get worse ?

Thanks in advance.

Vijay

[Red]

shhhh. You're gonna scare away all the Kerry supporters planning to move up north.

[newstars]

Oh i forgot to mention my friend who has been out work for 13 months. He's a chemical engineer. He was laid off cause the company he was working for got bought out and downsized. He's gotten nothing more than interviews with placement agencies.

No wonder so many highly skilled/educated Canadians move elsewhere for work.

[msbunnicula]

I don't know about other careers, but every week I seem to be receiving about 2 or 3 ads for librarian/information professional positions in Atlantic Canada. I just wish that I was finished school so that I could apply for them.

[meatless]

At this rate how does one view the general job situation 3 to 10 years down the road? Will it improve or will it get worse ?

Thanks in advance.

Vijay


I think things will improve once the huge mass of people between the age of 50-60 start to retire (the older baby boomers). Once they retire many MANY good jobs will open up. However, I imagine a lot of them will be "different"-- more temp jobs, more part time, lower wages etc.