September 2004

BC Government Still Ignoring Economic Woes

The British Columbia Liberals are still out of touch with the real challenges facing the provincial economy, says B.C. Federation of Labour President Jim Sinclair.

Sinclair made the comments on July 6 after Labour Minister Graham Bruce claimed that British Columbia is leading the country in employment and economic growth.

"The ministry's own figures demonstrate that the growth in the number of people earning $16 an hour or more is the second lowest in Canada, just ahead of last place New Brunswick," said Sinclair. "Rather than try and bamboozle British Columbians with twisted figures, this government should be looking for solutions that will put workers back on the job."

Despite government assertions that BC leads the country in job growth, the number of unemployed British Columbians has increased by 17.5 percent since the Liberals took office, nearly double the percentage growth of unemployed people in Canada over the same period.

Sinclair pointed to declining average wages as another indicator of poor economic performance. Historically high unionization rates in BC have helped keep wages high. Since May 2003, the average hourly wage rate in BC has declined by 1.6 percent while the average increase across Canada was 2.9 percent.

"Telling us we're doing great as real wages decline and the number of unemployed increases is an insult to the thousands of workers living pay cheque to pay cheque, or those who are unemployed thanks to failed government policies," he said.

As David Schreck's popular website (www.strategicthoughts.com) recently pointed out, the Vancouver Sun has helped to promote the Liberals' spin on the economy. Despite the Sun's charts and graphics backing up the Liberal claims, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in BC was 6.8% in May 2001 (when Campbell was elected) and 7.5% in June 2004. Employment growth rates peaked in 1992-1995, reaching a high of 5.1%, and there was an overall decline in jobless rates from 1991 through 2001. In June 2004, employment was 3.5% higher than June 2003 (seasonally adjusted).

Since January 2004, BC employment has increased by just 0.4%, compared to 0.9% for the Canadian average over that period. The increase of 27,200 in employment between May and June is unusual, but not unprecedented, Schreck points out. Between January and February, BC lost 36,400 jobs, an even larger swing.

Statistics Canada reports that BC lost jobs in eight of the agency's 16 industrial categories in June 2004. Most (11,800) of that month's job gains were in the category of "information, culture and recreation," referring to newspaper publishers, radio stations and similar media, the cultural sector, and casinos.

BC opened a new 24-7 casino in June, and allowed the existing casino in Burnaby to go to a 24-7 operation. While Graham Bruce said the June employment numbers were related to a recovery in tourism, in reality the trend largely reflects expanded gambling.

© 2004 Communist Party of Canada