Ottawa, ON – Garnett Genuis, Conservative Shadow Minister for Employment, released the following statement on February’s Labour Force Survey numbers:
“Today’s job numbers reveal a drop in over 100,000 full-time jobs in one month alone, the largest single-month decline since the Great Recession (outside the pandemic), and a drop of almost 50,000 youth jobs. The youth unemployment rate has spiked to over 14 per cent.
“After promising Canadians the fastest-growing economy in the G7, Carney has delivered the only shrinking economy in the G7. Canada has witnessed a cumulative contraction in employment of 109,000 Canadians this year. This is driven by a cratering of private sector employment, with Canada experiencing the second consecutive month of decline.
“1.5 million Canadians are now without a job. Among those looking for work, 22.8 per cent are trapped in long-term unemployment, well above the pre-pandemic average of 17.1 per cent, having been continuously searching for a job for 27 weeks or more.
“Canadians aren’t working because Carney’s policies aren’t working. While Conservatives released a detailed jobs plan last fall to unleash the economy, fix immigration, fix job training and build homes where the jobs are, Liberals still have no plan to fix the damage their policies are causing.
“One year into Mark Carney’s term in office, we continue to see job chaos, especially for young people who are desperate to get a start in life. As employment continues to fall, Liberals have ignored our proposals and failed to put forward any solutions to their jobs crisis. It’s time for the government to put forward a real plan that will secure jobs for Canadians.”