|
       Sudbury Labour Market Information Newsletter - July & August 1997 Prepared By Marilyn Prus, Labour Market Highlights July 1997 Northern Ontario labour market continues to improve through the summer months. Employment is up 7,000 and the unemployment rate fell from 10.8 percent to 10 percent. Most of the gains were in Northeast Ontario. Northern Ontario Labour Market The summer seasonal increase is showing in strong improvements in the labour market. Employment increased by 7,000 jobs. Job finders came from the unemployed, which fell by 4,000, and from 3,000 new entrants and re-entrants to the labour market. The unemployment rate fell nearly a full percentage point, from 10.8 to 10.0 percent. All indicators showed strong increases from last month. The only sour note is that the employment level last year at this time was 15,000 jobs higher. Northeast Ontario Labour Market Employment was up 6,000 jobs from last month. Both 2,000 of the unemployed found work as well as 4,000 who were just entering or who had dropped out the labour force. The unemployment rate dropped from 11.5 to10.6 percent. Most of the job gains were outside of Sudbury. While showing strong summer employment gains, employment levels still lag last year's level, down 13,000 jobs. The Northeast labour market accounted for most of the Northern Ontario job gains. Sudbury Labour Market The Sudbury labour market showed slight positive changes. This month includes the effects of the Inco strike. While the strikers themselves were still defined as "employed" secondary effects might have been expected in increased numbers of unemployed. No dramatic effects occurred. Employment increased by a modest 1,000 jobs, with the number of unemployed staying level at 8,000. The present Falconbridge strike will likely have the same subdued impact particularly as fewer workers are involved. Sudbury's employment levels are only 1,000 below July 1996 numbers showing some resilience to downturns which effected Northern Ontario outside of the two major urban centres. Northwest Ontario Labour Market The Northwest Ontario labour market showed small but positive movement. While the unemployment rate fell from 10.8 to 9.3 percent from last month employment gains were modest. The gain of 1,000 jobs from last month came from the unemployed. Employment levels are 3,000 below last July's although all labour market indicators showed improvement over last month. Industries The goods industrial sectors, particularly manufacturing and construction are providing the employment growth from last month. Compared to a year ago, however, the stronger sectors are transportation, communications, and other utilities(TCOU) and the other mixed sector,finance, insurance, and real estate(FIRE). In the TCOU industrial group most of the employment strength is coming from the transportation group. For FIRE, most of the employment is coming from real estate. For the most part, the employment increases are in Northeast Ontario. Labour Market Highlights August 1997 Northern Ontario Labour Market for August 1997 ° Seasonal employment increases slightly in NE Ontario ° Stable Metro employment levels ° Canada/Ontario employment growth continues ° N.Ontario EI Rate highest in Ontario The employment gains were limited to Northeast Ontario. Overall, the summer job scene was weak. Employment levels remain below the corresponding 1996 levels. Northeast Ontario Labour Market Northeast Ontario employment increased by 4,500 jobs, most of them outside of the Sudbury area. The rise in employment was marked by a decline in the unemployment rate to 9.7%. This is the first time the unemployment rate has dropped below 10% this year. The goods sector did most of the hiring. Employment remains below 1996 levels. Sudbury Labour Market Little movement occurred in the Sudbury labour market. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 8.7% and moved slightly higher to 9.2% without seasonal adjustment. Overall, a very slow employment summer for Sudbury due to the Inco strike in June and the Falconbridge strike in July. The employment level remains below last year's. Northwest Ontario Labour Market The Northwest Ontario labour market showed its weakness by losing employment during the last of the summer months. Due to the three month moving average technique used by the labour force survey to smooth changes, the August average employment numbers, which include June and July estimates, should be the strongest given the usual summer employment growth. Having job loses in August is therefore an indicator of a very weak economy. The unemployment rate climbed almost a complete percentage point to 10.1%. Industrial Changes Slight seasonal employment increases in the goods sector was spread lightly over mining, manufacturing, and construction. No strong trends are present other than the continuing weak labour market results. This performance contrasts sharply with the continuing increase in employment in Southern Ontario. Employment Insurance Claims
(Figures are from the Established claims Analysis Report and represent regular claims only. Regular claims are those claims that were established as a result of work shortages or where the claimant left employment for justifiable reasons). Bits and Pieces Only about half of Canadian workers work a standard workweek and workers with multiple jobs are becoming increasingly prevalent. Most of these "contingent" workers lose out on health benefits and paid holidays. Their incomes are unpredictable and they answer to multiple masters thus increasing the stress level. The number of contingent workers is rapidly growing. As an example, between 1984 and 1994 the hours worked by casual employees at Canada Post almost tripled. Meanwhile, hours worked by regular, full-time employees dropped by 38%. Why the greater reliance on part-time workers? There are several reasons. 1. Employers want to reduce costs and increase flexibility. 2. The growth of service industries requires more casual and part-time workers to deal with fluctuations in demand or extended hours of service. 3. The growing number of women in the labour force means there are more maternity leaves to be covered. 4. Small firms, which have created a disproportionate share of jobs in the past 20 years, are more likely to rely on temporary staff. Youth unemployment across the nation has reached a crisis. Top executives at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce are attempting to raise the public’s awareness of the crisis and have challenged heads of Canadian Companies to take stock of their hiring practices with a view to creating jobs for youth. *At the 38th premiers conference, Canada’s premiers have agreed to launch a nationwide plan within four months to combat youth unemployment which is hovering at about 17% while the national jobless rate remains at about 9.5%. Youth unemployment has remained a serious problem since the recession that began in 1991. The number of jobs being held by youth has dropped by 300,000 from 1990 to 1996. In order to implement a youth employment strategy that would include training and literacy for people between the ages of 15 and 24, the provinces have asked for federal dollars to support the initiative. To date there are no details available on the intended program.
Statistics Canada reported that 94,000 full-time jobs were created across the country in July. Construction companies, high tech firms and manufacturers are leading the parade of businesses who are bulking up their labour force. Many companies who have been filling the gap with part-time workers are now feeling more confident about where the economy is headed and that has translated into a hiring surge, particularly of full-time workers. According to three basic indicators measured by Statistics Canada, the economy nationwide is on the upswing. Help-wanted ads, new-housing prices and car sales were all up. The index that Statistics Canada uses to track help-wanted ads as a future indicator of what the unemployment rate will look like, rose for the 11th straight month. The index was up 3.0% in June. New housing prices rose .1% in May and are now only 1% higher than a year ago. Sales of new motor vehicles rose 1.8% in May and are now 16.8% higher than a year ago. Cara Operations Limited plans on adding 39 Harvey’s outlets, 24 Swiss Chalet restaurants and 11 Toast cafés by next march and create 2,500 permanent jobs in the process. Presently Cara operates 334 Harvey’s and 151 Swiss Chalet outlets. *According to a research paper released by Statistics Canada, those people most likely to lose their jobs in the 90’s are older and better paid workers (those earning over $40,000/yr.), as well as employees in fields such as health and education. Mining Inco resumed it’s operations again after a short labour dispute followed by a shut down that was scheduled prior to the strike. Two aboriginal groups attempting to stop the construction at the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine site until an environmental impact assessment is completed, were advised by the Newfoundland Supreme court that the project will continue. The groups contend that this construction is part of the overall mining project, while Inco says that the construction is necessary to support on-going exploration. The Innu and Inuit say they will find other ways to halt the work. Construction The Ministry of Transportation announced funding of $2.5 million to help complete the reconstruction of Regional Road 80 to Elmview Drive to be completed over the next two years. Construction is expected to begin late July. The 1.5 mile stretch is to be widened and four-laned. Construction on Hwy. 6 between the Queensway and McCulloch Drive in Espanola is scheduled to begin mid-August and be completed by mid-October. The Ojibway Cultural Foundation received a repayable loan of $600,000 from the Northern Ontario heritage Fund Corporation to help build a $2.7 million regional tourism and cultural facility on Manitoulin Island. It is anticipated that construction on the facility will begin this fall. About 30 construction jobs and 10 permanent jobs are expected to be realized with this project. The new facility will house an interpretive centre and museum, an art gallery, a gift shop, a traditional healing centre, meeting rooms, a crafts workshop/audio-visual studio and storage space. Carnarvon council approved the reparation of the bridge on the 8th Concession Road in Mindemoya. The construction costs will be $11,000.
Restaurants Inc. has proposed a multi-tenant food court, native village with crafts and food and extensive parking for highway traffic and snowmobilers. * New housing starts in July faltered in Sudbury according to statistics released by Canada Mortgage and Housing. There were 26 new residential units started in July this year as compared to 59 starts for the same period a year ago. Buyers are still looking at the resale market when it comes to home buying as they are very affordable. Lingering employment uncertainty in the area continues to hamper residential construction activity. All 26 units in July were single family homes. Lay-Offs and Re-engineering Many more federal government employees will lose their jobs when the federal government begins contracting out the management of most of it’s federal government buildings. Bids are now being accepted for $200 million worth of contracts to assume the management of 300 federal buildings nationwide. To date, there is no word as to whether or not any workers from the Department of Public Works in Sudbury will be affected. Bell has announced another downsizing exercise and this time they expect to cut another 2,200 jobs . as two-thirds of the jobs being eliminated are in the management area , the impact to the local economy should not be significant. The majority of the management jobs with Bell are in Toronto. More than 6,000 provincial employees were advised that their jobs will be transferred to municipalities or other agencies as part of the Ontario government’s off-loading of services. In some cases this means lay-offs. Plans to transfer the jobs were announced earlier this year. The transfers and lay-offs will take place over a two year period in order to meet the provincial governments promise to cut their labour force by 13,000. *Now that the federal government has terminated the Canadian Red Cross Society’s role as Canada’s blood collector, 60 workers in Sudbury are in a " wait and see" mode. All but a dozen employees are not represented by the Ontario Nurses Association. The centre has been a regional collection centre for the society since 1979. The centre supplies blood and blood products to a wide geographic area of northeastern Ontario. The fate of the centre has yet to be determined. *Falconbridge Ltd. is concerned that nickel prices will drop significantly once new production comes on stream between 2001 and 2005 and is planning major cost-cutting measures at it’s operation in Sudbury. Part of this cost cutting exercise will be to reduce it’s workforce over the long term. However, Falconbridge’s restructuring plan could run into stiff opposition from it’s unions. The company wants to reduce staff by 1/3 through attrition by about 2001. about 600 employees will be eligible to retire by 2001. Presently it operates with a labour force of about 2,100 employees. On the Down Side Kmart Canada may close up to 20 stores after the up-coming Christmas season. Presently there are 123 retail outlets across the country, but the weakest outlets have been put on a review list. As Kmart has not divulged the locations of these weak stores, the future of the two Sudbury stores remain uncertain. *Statistics compiled by the Rainbow Country Travel association indicated that visitors to the Sudbury basin this summer have dropped when compared to the previous two summers. Little Current recorded the greatest number of visitors this year. The figures are tabulated from tourist information centres. There were 46,000 visitors to the area so far this year and it is anticipated that they contributed $4.6 million to the economy. The figures do not include those who go directly to their destinations. Labour Disputes and Unrest And just when the community breathed a sigh of relief with the Inco strike resolved.... Talks between Falconbridge Limited and Mine Mill-Canadian Auto Workers broke off July 23, 1997 over the contract language related to the filling of job vacancies by the skilled trades. Issues of shift scheduling and wages are major stumbling blocks. More than 1,400 production and maintenance workers at the mine are affected. August 1st... the picket lines went up and the smell of fear again struck the community. Falconbridge earned about $247.9 million in 1996 and workers presently ear about $22 an hour plus benefits and bonuses. * Miners and maintenance workers returned to work at Falconbridge Inc. on August 25, after a 24-day strike. Eighty percent of the workers voted in favour of the 3 year agreement. The deal gave workers a $1500 signing bonus in addition to a 1.5% increase in the first year of the agreement. There are no wage increases in year 2 and 3 although workers will get a cost-of -living increase. Postal workers could go on strike in the fall. This would be the first strike since 1991. Key issues are wages, benefits and job security. The bargaining union for the postal workers, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), represents 200 postal workers in Sudbury. Unions representing about a half a million public-sector workers in Ontario are planning to confront the government with political action that could culminate in strikes. Before labour disputes are undertaken, union leaders will be working hard to convince their members, members of other unions and members of the voting public that the conservative government is unfairly attacking workers employed by hospitals, school boards and municipalities. Union leaders believe that Bill 136, legislation introduced last month, will reduce the number of jobs in the public sector and cut the wages of many who retain their jobs. Their right to strike will be taken away for a year as well as their right to negotiate first contracts with newly amalgamated municipalities, school boards and hospitals. Contract talks continue with the United Brewers Warehousing Workers Union. The Beer Stores remain open even though the 80 local workers rejected the latest contract offer . The issues are proposed changes to pension language, hiring clauses and job security. Potentially, 5000 workers could be on strike throughout the province. The United Brewers Warehousing Workers Union signed a tentative deal with Brewers Retail Inc. A tentative deal has been struck between the Sudbury Public Library, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the City of Sudbury, thus averting a strike. The city dropped demands to use volunteers to do bargaining-unit work, dilute the seniority clause and contract out more work. The tentative agreement calls for wage increases of 1.5% retroactive to April 1, 1996, 1% retroactive to April 1, 1997 and an additional 1% as of April 1998. *Negotiations for 60 A&P stores, including Espanola, could be on strike by mid-August. The 75 employees of the Espanola store have been without a contract since June 16, 1997. * A tentative agreement was signed on August 1, 1997 between the union and the employer A&P stores. * Although United Parcel Services (UPS) in the United States went on strike in August, their Canadian counterparts remained on the job. The company is the largest delivery company in the United States with 200,000 employees. The Teamsters Union, their bargaining agent, says the main issue is the number of part-time workers who in some cases are employed over 50 hours per week. The workers are striking to pressure the company into hiring full time workers, something the company hasn’t done since the eighties. Employees of Marriott Foods (food services contractor at Laurentian University) have been working without a contract since Oct. 31, 1996 and are now in a legal position to strike. The 30 full-time and 32 part-time employees are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Negotiations are continuing around the issues of wages and benefits. On the Bright Side There is potential for growth in the blueberry industry in the Sudbury area. Both Europe and Japan hunger for this fruit found in abundance locally. Entrepreneurs from Quebec are willing to buy all the blueberries that locals can pick. Blueberries are shipped by rail from Quebec to British Columbia and then shipped to Japan. Ray Bonin says there is potential for growth in the processing end of the business by making jams, pies and muffins. The Waubetek Business Development Corporation which has provided community and business development services to Birch Island and the surrounding area for the past eight years, received an additional $50,578 in funding from FedNor to upgrade their informatics capacity. The funding will allow the corporation to provide Internet access and orientation to its small business clients and improve its business counselling service by utilizing FedNor’s and Industry Canada’s business information products and data bases. Information technology, a vast computer-driven industry, grew by 18% nationally across Canada said Gaylen Duncan, president of the Information Technology Association of Canada. He says students in computer-science programs at technical schools and private colleges are virtually guaranteed employment upon graduation. Cockburn Island has been in the tire recycling business for the past three years but has noticed a marked increase in activity over the past year. As business is so brisk, the company has hired as many as six people during the summer to keep abreast of the situation. An agreement has been reached between Eaton’s and Pioneer Management Group Inc. to keep Eaton’s in the City Centre Mall until the year 2000. The company still is in bankruptcy protection and it’s fate is still under review by the national chain. The Sudbury store employs about 100 employees, of which, 80 are part-time. The Ontario government has hired six private contractors to take over some fire-fighting duties in Northern Ontario. Outland Reforestation, Geralton Community Forest, Lake Superior First Nation, Wikwemikong Development Corporation, Metagami First Nation and Whitefish Lake First Nation have each been hired to provide up to 120 firefighting crews for mop-up duty and sustained attack during peak forest fire periods this summer. First Nations communities within the jurisdiction of the Rainbow Country Travel Association are working with the Sudbury Regional Development Corporation (SRDC) to create a special "trail" to allow tourists to choose their own showcase of aboriginal experiences. Entitled Walk with the Nishnaabe, the project will connect about 15 First Nations communities within Rainbow Country. Pioneer Manor in Sudbury will be getting an additional $540,000 in annual funding from the Ministry of Health . The increase is part of a $1 million funding increase for long term care facilities in Ontario. *More than 3,000 new jobs were created in northeastern Ontario in June. Most of the job growth was attributed to seasonal growth in service and tourism-sector jobs. * Indications are that the Sudbury Farmers’ Market located on Shaunessy Street will have a record breaking year. Not only are the number of visitors up, but the vendors are reporting increased sales. * Health Minister Allan rock has admitted that deep cuts to health care have hurt, causing anxiety which threatens the confidence in the system. Rock promised that the cuts are over and stated that now the government is committed to finding out where the problems are and determining how to fix them.
New Businesses and Expansions OK Tire Store, a franchise operation, opened in June next to Jim’s Automotive Services on Algonquin Road in the south end. More than 500 tires are on hand. Two staff run the shop. W.B.C. Media Resources opened last September providing offers desktop publishing and radio sales on a contractual basis. The owner/operator, Wilf Currie, was a former creative promotional writer for Palmorex. For those caffeine and sugar addicts, another donut shop opened on Lorne Street next to the Beaver Gas Bar... Country Style. Zig’s, Sudbury’s first gay bar opened in July. Located on Elgin Street North, is a lounge-type bar with high energy dance music. 1 Hour Signs, a franchise operation and the 14th of it’s kind, opened it’s doors three months ago on Lasalle Blvd., east of Falconbridge Road. Offering a wide array of styles and designs, a sign can be made the same day. The 3,000 square foot facility houses four staff. A branch of CTF Supply Limited, one of the largest distributors of tools, fasteners and supplies for use in the construction, industrial and institutional markets in Ontario opened on Lorne Street. Customer service is their number 1 priority as they offer same day free delivery service to their customers. Four people are employed by this company. Cakes by Azilda recently relocated downtown to the corner of Durham and Elm Street (the old Woolworth building). Business is so brisk that she was considering hiring another person so she could concentrate on the baking. Processing Plus, which offers data entry and desk top publishing services opened in New Sudbury to meet the great demand for word processing services. Katy’s Closet, a home shopping fashion service that produces a line of reasonably- priced women’s clothing that are all Canadian made, opened in Val Caron. Nolin Shell , a landmark in the Flour Mill reopened in July after being closed 3.5 months for a complete refit. Handyman Connection, a franchise operation, has started in the area. It’s main goal is to provide a service to seniors, single parents or people who are "all thumbs" by fixing leaky faucets and holes in the wall, put on and take down storm windows and other such chores. One of Canada’s largest wholesale electronic companies could be opening in the New Sudbury Shopping centre as early as next spring. Futureshop, which has 30 stores in Ontario has confirmed that a deal with the centre is almost complete. an additional 30,000 to 35,000 square feet of space will be built next to the Wal-Mart garage to house the facility. Construction could begin as early as this fall with the opening slated for the spring of 98. The store anticipates hiring 50 full time staff and a few part time staff as well. On July 18, Gordons’ Outdoor Wildlife Museum and 3-D Archery Range in Tehkummah added an 18 hole mini-putt golf course to it’s attractions. Regional council’s planning committee approved a tackle, bait, fish, restaurant and commercial recreation business for Hanmer . A fish hatchery business will also be operated in the same facility. The region’s planning committee has approved the operation of a sand pit to be located at the southeast corner of the Falconbridge Highway-Maley Drive Intersection. Maley Developments Ltd. will be allowed to operate for a three year period as per the amendments to existing by-laws. Aqua Magnetic Sales, a new Sudbury company, is selling a device which magnetizes calcium particles and changes their molecular structure. The product is called Active Antikalk Lime Decomposer and when attached to your water pipes will remove the mineral deposits in six months. * The Baron Academy, an elementary private school, will be opening it’s doors this fall in Sudbury. The school uses the Ministry of Education guidelines but the principal advises that their core curriculum has been enhanced beyond these guidelines. Although the school will be located in the south end, the actual location has not as yet been determined. * Big Thunder, a new nightclub located in the old Grand Theatre opened featuring popular dance music. * Biway Stores Limited will be opening in Espanola in September on the corner of Barber and centre Streets in the old A&P building. There are also rumours that it will be fronted by a Country Style Donuts. It is anticipated that 15-20 new jobs will be created. * Creative Sandwiches, a sandwich catering service has opened on the Kingsway. * The Poetz Pantry, a restaurant offering a unique menu such as black bean and puree carrot soup opened in July on Cedar Street. The 22-seat restaurant employs 10 full and part-time staff. * Another Tim Horton Donuts has opened on the Kinsway at the corner of Levesque Street. The new outlet has a total of 70 seats and will employ 30 full-time and part-time staff. The outlet is the first stage of a two phase development. A 4,000 square-foot strip mall is expected to be built on the site.
Websites Worth Visiting Young Canadians, students and recent graduates can now use Industry Canada’s Internet employment database, the National Graduate Register ( NGR ), to apply to several youth employment and internship opportunities under the federal government Youth Employment Strategy. These programs represent over 9,000 job and internship opportunities for young job seekers. The site can be visited at http://ngr.schoolnet.ca. Any questions about the National Graduate Register and the Youth Employment Strategy can be directed to 1-800-964-7763. Highlights From HRCC Sudbury Our "test" website is now available. It is hoped that the French version will be up and running by the end of the month. You can view our site at: http://www.cyberbeach.net/~hrc3529 Our department would like to HOTLINK to your website if you are established on the Internet. Please contact me as per the directions below with your URL in order to facilitate this process. Editor’s Notes Due to summer vacations for the staff of the Labour Market Information Unit, a combined July and August newsletter was produced. The above excerpts have been taken from the following newspapers:
Your comments and suggestions are always welcome! The Labour Market Information Unit is only one source of labour market information in our community. Any labour market information that you would like to share with your community partners would be a welcome addition to our news bulletin. Contributions to the "Community Corner" are always welcome. I can be reached at: (705) 670-6674 (phone) or (705) 670-6727 (fax). Yours in Partnership, Marilyn Prus Copyright © 1998
Human Resources Development Canada |
