Latest news with #unemployment
CBC
12 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
Windsor has the highest unemployment rate in Canada again — and men are the most impacted
Windsor has regained its position as the city with the highest unemployment rate in Canada, and it's disproportionately impacting men. New data from Statistics Canada places Windsor's unemployment rate at a seasonally adjusted three-month moving average of 11.2 per cent. That's up from 10.8 per cent in May and 9.1 per cent in June of 2024. Peterborough, which had previously moved into the No. 1 position, was second with a jobless rate of 10 per cent. The lack of jobs disportionately impacts male workers, whose jobs tend to be more impacted by U.S. trade policy, says Justin Falconer, CEO of Workforce Windsor-Essex. And that trade policy contributes to Windsor's poor job numbers. "Windsor-Essex really is ground zero," he said. "The employed persons numbers declined since February. We've seen unemployed persons increase since February. … The big event in February was, of course, the U.S. president coming into office." The number of unemployed men between 25 and 54 is currently around 10,400 – higher than it was at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when it reached 9,700, Falconer said. "In Canada, about 8.8 per cent of working-age persons work in U.S.-dependent industries," he said. "But when you break that down by gender, it's over 12 per cent [of men] working in U.S. dependent industries – 12.5 – whereas 4.7 per cent of women work in U.S. -dependent industries." Unemployment is common in Windsor High unemployment in Windsor isn't a new phenomenon. The city had the highest unemployment rate in the country a year ago when the Biden administration was in office — and Canada was trading freely with the country. But the reasons were different, Falconer said. For the past two years, job growth has simply failed to keep pace with a growing population of people drawn to the city by forecasts of economic prosperity, a desirable climate and proximity to the U.S. Since February, he said, the trend has started to reverse. For the first time in June, Windsor saw growth in unemployment without a corresponding growth in population. And there's a near-record-high number of people looking for work. "The all-time high for unemployed persons, which happened in COVID, was about 35,000 people," Falconer said. "We are on the doorstep of that with about 30,000 people right now." As for those U.S.-dependent jobs, they tend to be good ones, so the loss is felt, Falconer said. "The average wage of a person working in a U.S.-dependent … industry… in 2024 was estimated to be $37.24, which is 6.5 per cent higher than what the national hourly wage rate would have been. So these are good paying jobs." A worker in a U.S. trade-dependent industry is also twice as likely to have a high school diploma or less as their highest level of educational attainment. Falconer said his and other organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, are doing what they can to support businesses impacted by the trade policies and are contemplating the best ways to support unemployed workers and help them find work. There were some sectors of the economy where employment rose in Windsor-Essex in June, he said, notably in wholesale and retail trade; finance, insurance and real estate and professional, scientific and technical services. Nationwide, employment grew in June by approximately 83,000 jobs, the first increase since January. Unemployment fell by 0.1 of a percentage point to 6.9 per cent. However, employment was concentrated in part-time work, the statistics agency said. In Ontario, the unemployment rate stood at 7.8 per cent, showing little change from May.
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gen Z men with college degrees now have the same unemployment rate as non-grads—a sign that the higher education payoff is dead
Gen Z is increasingly slamming their degrees as useless, and new research indicates there may be some truth when it comes to the job hunt. In fact, the unemployment rate of males aged 22 to 27 is roughly the same, whether or not they hold a degree. It comes as employers drop degree requirements and young men ditch corporate jobs for skilled trades. Gen Z is struggling to break into the entry-level job market—but young male college graduates may be hurting the most. The most recent data from the Federal Reserve indicates that the unemployment rate among recent college graduates is on the rise, at about 5.5%. Although it remains lower than the 6.9% rate among all young workers between 22 and 27 years old, men with a college degree now have roughly the same unemployment rate as young men who didn't go to college, according to an analysis of U.S. Current Population Survey data by the Financial Times. In comparison, around 2010, non-college-educated men experienced unemployment rates over 15%, whereas the rate among college graduates was closer to 7%. It's a stark sign that the job market boost once promised by a degree has all but vanished—and that employers care less about credentials than they once did, when hiring for entry-level roles. Young men and women are facing diverging employment rates While 7% of college-educated American men are unemployed, for women this drops to around 4%, according to the Financial Times analysis, and the growth in fields like healthcare are likely to credit. Over the next decade, healthcare occupations are projected to grow much faster than the rate for all occupations, translating to about 1.9 million openings each year—according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Moreover, the industry is largely considered to be among the safest from any sort of cyclical changes: 'Healthcare is a classic recession-resistant industry because medical care is always in demand,' Priya Rathod, career expert at Indeed, previously told Fortune. Men and women also tend to differ on whether they'd be willing to accept a job that doesn't quite fit into their career goals. 'Women tend to be more flexible in accepting job offers, even if they're not perfectly aligned with their career goals or are part-time or they are overqualified for,' Lewis Maleh, CEO of the global recruitment agency Bentley Lewis, previously told Fortune. 'Men, on the other hand, often hold out for roles that align more closely with their ideal career path or offer what they perceive as adequate compensation and status.' Gen Z men are skipping college—and turning to the skilled trade industry Many Gen Zers have learned the hard way about the challenges of today's job market. In fact, some 11% of all young people are considered NEET—meaning not in employment, education, or training. And while there are a myriad of reasons why they might have lost interest in work or education, for those who are college-educated, the struggles often come down to feeling hopeless after months—or years—on the job search. Young men in particular are especially seen as falling into this category of NEET. But some young people have seen the writing on the wall and decided to change paths. The overall share of young college students has declined by about 1.2 million between 2011 and 2022, according to Pew Research Center analysis. But this decline has a stark gender divide, with there being about 1 million fewer men and about 200,000 fewer women students. Part of this shift may be credited to the rise in skilled trade career paths—which tend to be male-dominated. Enrollment at two-year vocational public schools have increased by about 20% since 2020, a net increase of over 850,000 students, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. It's a trend that even billionaires have suggested will be a growing part of the future. Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of KIND bars and the newest judge on Shark Tank says that vocational careers, like being a carpenter or mechanic, are 'huge opportunities that pay really, really well.' 'Vocational training and learning how to be a carpenter or a mechanic or any of those jobs is a huge field with huge opportunities that pays really, really well,' Lubetzky told Fortune earlier this month. 'For those people that have great ideas or great opportunities and don't want to go to college, I don't think college is an end-all, be-all or required thing.' This story was originally featured on Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Official India jobless data is not accurate, say top independent economists: Reuters poll
By Vivek Mishra BENGALURU (Reuters) -The Indian government's unemployment data is inaccurate and masks the severity of joblessness and underemployment, according to a Reuters poll of independent economists, several of whom said the true jobless rate is around twice the official figure. India is the world's fastest-growing major economy at an annual rate of 7.4% in the January-March quarter, but so far growth has failed to create enough well-paying jobs for the millions of young people entering the workforce each year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is now more than one year into a third term after losing a commanding majority, partly blamed on discontent among youth over their future prospects. Over 70% of independent economists polled over the last month, 37 of 50, said the official unemployment rate, at 5.6% in June, is inaccurate. In a Reuters survey last year most economists flagged chronic joblessness as the government's biggest challenge. Experts say outdated definitions of what constitutes a job in a country of more than 1.4 billion people are distorting the true scale of unemployment and underemployment. "The whole thing to me is really throwing dust in your eyes. You say this is the unemployment rate, the growth rate — quite often, they don't make much sense. We have a massive employment problem and that is not reflected in the data," said Pranab Bardhan, professor emeritus of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. "Most Indian workers are underemployed. If you are able-bodied and you did not work for any time, not even one hour in the last six months, unless you are rich, how did you feed yourself?... So you scrounge around and do something. And then you are employed. Now what does that employment mean?" asked Bardhan. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which estimates India's official employment and unemployment data, counts anyone working even one hour a week as employed. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation defended the credibility of its labour force data and its representation of India's labour market dynamics, saying the PLFS uses Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews to improve data quality and reduce errors, and noted international agencies use its data in their reporting. While it is difficult to provide an alternate estimate of the jobless rate, 17 experts surveyed did, giving a median of 10%, ranging from 7% to as high as 35%. For years, India published official unemployment rates of around 4%, partly because statisticians counted unpaid family labour and subsistence work as employment. Experts argue this diverges from international norms and makes the jobless rate incomparable with other countries. And it is not just academics and career labour market experts who are concerned about data accuracy. "Unemployment is one of our big challenges and I don't believe the government data reflects the true ground situation," said Duvvuri Subbarao, Reserve Bank of India Governor from 2008-2013. Subbarao said the kind of jobs being created also matters. As high-growth sectors like finance and IT tend to be less labour-intensive, he called for a sharper policy focus on manufacturing, which holds greater potential for large-scale employment. About a quarter of experts polled had no problem with the accuracy of official jobless data. "No one in the world has perfect employment data. People assume the U.S. labour force survey is perfect. It's not. Our PLFS is very robust now. People just don't want to believe it," said Surjit Bhalla, former executive director for India at the International Monetary Fund. But several experts said even if methodologically sound, official figures fail to capture deeper challenges. On its current path, India will take at least two decades to match the female labour force participation rates of other G20 countries, the survey found. A lack of strong job creation is also showing up in stagnating wages. "We are home to some of the big dollar billionaires… the wealth of some of the elite has been growing dramatically over the past decade. But real wages are not growing. Half of the workers are getting less than they got even 10 years ago. To me, these are not signs of a healthy economy," said Jayati Ghosh, professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. "We should be prioritising good quality employment generation," she said. Asked what the government should prioritise to create more high-quality jobs, several said improving education and skills, promoting private investment and reducing regulatory hurdles. "Stop selling the narrative that farm jobs growth (is) to be read as jobs growth. Adopt an industrial policy, with a manufacturing strategy that is horizontal in nature, not a PLI type picking winners tactic, that is clearly failing," said Santosh Mehrotra, professor at the University of Bath. PLI (Production Linked Incentive) is a subsidy scheme to boost domestic manufacturing. The government scaled back the scheme just four years after its launch. (Additional reporting by Pranoy Krishna and Rahul Trivedi; Polling by Devayani Sathyan, Veronica Khongwir and Susobhan Sarkar; Editing by Ross Finley, Hari Kishan, Alexandra Hudson)
CBS News
16 hours ago
- Business
- CBS News
About 48,000 Michigan residents to get retroactive unemployment benefits
About 48,000 Michigan residents who filed for unemployment benefits early in 2025 will receive additional money on their debit cards or in their direct deposit accounts. The lump sum, retroactive payments are because of an increase in benefits that the Michigan legislature approved in December, but that didn't take effect until later. The weekly maximum went from $362 to $446; and dependent benefit adjustments also were made. There is no need to apply for the additional money, it will be automatically be applied as a lump sum, catch-up payment. The State of Michigan says it is reviewing accounts and notifying those who are eligible through a notice titled "monetary redetermination letter" in the mail and in online profiles on the Michigan Web Account Manager (MiWAM) system. State officials have reviewed more than 78,000 claims filed between Jan. 1 and April 1 and determined that about 48,000 of those people were due for retroactive, additional funds. There also were "a small number" of unemployment recipients found to have received more than they were eligible for, state officials said. The Unemployment Insurance Agency will review those circumstances on request of the claimants.
CBC
a day ago
- Automotive
- CBC
In Canada's automotive capital, this auto shop can't find enough technicians
In Windsor, the city with Canada's highest unemployment, one local auto shop is desperately searching for licensed automotive technicians to help him keep up with demand. And he isn't alone —across the province there are 2,500 vacancies. The CBC's Chris Ensing reports.
