Waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Today's job numbers were disheartening with a surprising 72,000 full-time jobs being lost in October and the unemployment rate jumping to 7.3%; the heaviest job losses occurred in the manufacturing and construction sectors, while there continued to be gains in the service sector. These numbers would seem to reflect the uncertainty in the global economy with the continuing economic crisis that seems to lurch from one crisis to the next. Canada is being buffeted by headwinds that domestic political and corporate leaders have little control over. Let's explore some of the trends that are reflected in these numbers and the lack of response.

The heaviest job losses occurred in the manufacturing and construction sectors; the construction sector in Canada is cyclical, while the manufacture sector is in the midst of a long-term decline. The losses are mainly centred in Ontario and the Atlantic provinces, while the Western provinces generally registered a significant pick-up in jobs. Beyond this youth unemployment is on the rise with no relief in sight. There are a numbers of trends at play here, such as: the decline of the standard employment relationship as many of the job losses were full-time positions; the deindustrialization of the heartland as Ontario sheds manufacturing jobs; increased precarity as employers choose to hire part-time employees and the service sector continued to recruit into low-wage, low skill jobs.

These losses highlight the increasing precarious situation that exist in the labour trends and also lay bare the disturbing trend of politicians to engage in demagoguery rather than advance sustainable solutions that address the structural problems in Canada's labour markets. Prime Minister Stephen Harper blamed the losses on the European crisis, while Minister of Economic Development Brad Duguid blames the Japanese tsunami. Certainly these issues play a role in these disturbing numbers, but neither of these explanations address the deeper trends afoot in society or acknowledge that Canada risks entering another recession. Rising inequality, the impact from technology, stagnating wages, globalization a hollowing out of the middle-class, and a tepid civil society have left Canadians battered after four decades of economic growth that delivered little in the ways of gains for the average Canadian. There aren't easy fixes to any of these issues, yet even discussing them seems to be Kryptonite to politicians fixated on partisanship above all else. 

What's lost in the media, the commentaries and conversations about the economic crisis is the profound impact that the economic crisis has had on the very fabric of our existence. From the daily stress to the assault on the family to the uncertainty surrounding employment, a great many people's lives are up in the air. Neoliberalism brought us to the brink of collapse and then decided to charge us for its failings, citizens are paying the price for the criminal capers of an elite few. This episode has changed the way we think, communicate and interact with each other; what's troubling is that these vast changes within have gone largely unquestioned until recently. It would seem that the sheen surrounding the dogma of financial capitalism is waning as people wait for the other shoe to drop.