Job market ekes out tiny gain in January
OTTAWA (Reuters) — Canada’s sluggish economy caused the job market to stall unexpectedly in January, adding to a string of soft data and providing another reason for the Bank of Canada to keep its policy stimulative for longer. The economy created a negligible 2,300 net new jobs in the month as layoffs in construction and professional services offset modest hiring in manufacturing, Statistics Canada said on Friday. The jobless rate ticked higher to 7.6 per cent from 7.5 per cent, the highest since April 2011, as more people were looking for work. Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted 23,100 new positions and a jobless rate holding steady from December at 7.5 per cent. Canada recovered all the jobs lost during the recession one year ago as employment growth outperformed the United States in the last couple of years. That trend may be reversed this year. Hiring tapered off in the second half of 2011, although job gains in December had raised hopes of a continued comeback in January. In the year to December, Canada added 129,000 jobs, a gain of 0.7 per cent and the total number of hours worked increased 1.4 per cent. Full-time employment fell 3,600 while part-time employment rose 5,900 in the first month of 2012 and hiring was even across the public and private sectors. The number of self-employed fell by 37,000 while employees increased by 39,000, according to Statistics Canada. The hourly wage of permanent employees, closely watched by the Bank of Canada for signs of inflationary pressures, rose 2.2 per cent in January compared with one year earlier, down from 2.4 per cent in December.
Payroll earnings virtually unchanged from October to November: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $883.96 in November, virtually unchanged from the previous month, according to Statistics Canada. On a year-over-year basis, earnings rose 2.2 per cent. The increase reflects a number of factors, including wage growth and changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience. Average hours worked per week can also contribute to changes in earnings. A year-over-year decline in average hours worked per week tempered the increase in weekly earnings. In November, average hours worked per week amounted to 32.9, down from 33.1 hours 12 months earlier. Compared with October, average weekly hours were down by 0.3 per cent. Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings exceeded the national average of 2.2 per cent in four of Canada’s largest industrial sectors: administrative and support services; retail trade; professional, scientific and technical services; and manufacturing. Average weekly earnings rose in every province in the 12 months to November, led by growth in Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta and New Brunswick. The lowest rate of growth was in Ontario.
CRA webinar on CPP changes now available as video
OTTAWA — A December 2011 webinar on the changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is available on the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) website as a video. The changes to CPP came into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. Since then, employers may have had to deduct CPP contributions from the pensionable earnings paid to an employee who is 60 to 70 years of age, even if the employee is receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension, according to the CRA. More details on the changes are available at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/pyrll/clcltng/cpp-rpc/cppchng-eng.html?utm_source=payroll_deductions&utm_medium=eml.
The video of the webinar is available at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/vdcsts/2012/menu-eng.html?clp=bsnss/cpp-rpc-eng
Ontario fitness club operator and director fined $130,000 for employment standards violations
TORONTO — Premier Fitness Clubs, a Mississauga, Ont.-based operator of 25 fitness clubs across Ontario, was fined $130,000 for employment standards violations. Premier Fitness Clubs was fined $100,000 for a violation of the Employment Standards Act regarding wages owed to employees. Neil Proctor, a director of the company, was fined $30,000 for the same violation. Between June 2009 and September 2010, 38 current and former employees of Premier Fitness filed claims with the Ministry of Labour over wages not being paid in a timely fashion. An investigation revealed the claimants were owed a total of roughly $75,000. All wages were eventually paid, but some claimants waited up to a year for their entitlements, according to the ministry. Premier Fitness Clubs pleaded guilty to failing to promptly pay 38 employees and former employees about $75,000 in wages. Neil Proctor pleaded guilty to the same. The fines were imposed by Justice of the Peace Michael Barnes. In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
OTTAWA (Reuters) — Canada’s sluggish economy caused the job market to stall unexpectedly in January, adding to a string of soft data and providing another reason for the Bank of Canada to keep its policy stimulative for longer. The economy created a negligible 2,300 net new jobs in the month as layoffs in construction and professional services offset modest hiring in manufacturing, Statistics Canada said on Friday. The jobless rate ticked higher to 7.6 per cent from 7.5 per cent, the highest since April 2011, as more people were looking for work. Analysts in a Reuters poll had predicted 23,100 new positions and a jobless rate holding steady from December at 7.5 per cent. Canada recovered all the jobs lost during the recession one year ago as employment growth outperformed the United States in the last couple of years. That trend may be reversed this year. Hiring tapered off in the second half of 2011, although job gains in December had raised hopes of a continued comeback in January. In the year to December, Canada added 129,000 jobs, a gain of 0.7 per cent and the total number of hours worked increased 1.4 per cent. Full-time employment fell 3,600 while part-time employment rose 5,900 in the first month of 2012 and hiring was even across the public and private sectors. The number of self-employed fell by 37,000 while employees increased by 39,000, according to Statistics Canada. The hourly wage of permanent employees, closely watched by the Bank of Canada for signs of inflationary pressures, rose 2.2 per cent in January compared with one year earlier, down from 2.4 per cent in December.
Payroll earnings virtually unchanged from October to November: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $883.96 in November, virtually unchanged from the previous month, according to Statistics Canada. On a year-over-year basis, earnings rose 2.2 per cent. The increase reflects a number of factors, including wage growth and changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience. Average hours worked per week can also contribute to changes in earnings. A year-over-year decline in average hours worked per week tempered the increase in weekly earnings. In November, average hours worked per week amounted to 32.9, down from 33.1 hours 12 months earlier. Compared with October, average weekly hours were down by 0.3 per cent. Year-over-year growth in average weekly earnings exceeded the national average of 2.2 per cent in four of Canada’s largest industrial sectors: administrative and support services; retail trade; professional, scientific and technical services; and manufacturing. Average weekly earnings rose in every province in the 12 months to November, led by growth in Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta and New Brunswick. The lowest rate of growth was in Ontario.
CRA webinar on CPP changes now available as video
OTTAWA — A December 2011 webinar on the changes to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) is available on the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) website as a video. The changes to CPP came into effect on Jan. 1, 2012. Since then, employers may have had to deduct CPP contributions from the pensionable earnings paid to an employee who is 60 to 70 years of age, even if the employee is receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension, according to the CRA. More details on the changes are available at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/pyrll/clcltng/cpp-rpc/cppchng-eng.html?utm_source=payroll_deductions&utm_medium=eml.
The video of the webinar is available at: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/vdcsts/2012/menu-eng.html?clp=bsnss/cpp-rpc-eng
Ontario fitness club operator and director fined $130,000 for employment standards violations
TORONTO — Premier Fitness Clubs, a Mississauga, Ont.-based operator of 25 fitness clubs across Ontario, was fined $130,000 for employment standards violations. Premier Fitness Clubs was fined $100,000 for a violation of the Employment Standards Act regarding wages owed to employees. Neil Proctor, a director of the company, was fined $30,000 for the same violation. Between June 2009 and September 2010, 38 current and former employees of Premier Fitness filed claims with the Ministry of Labour over wages not being paid in a timely fashion. An investigation revealed the claimants were owed a total of roughly $75,000. All wages were eventually paid, but some claimants waited up to a year for their entitlements, according to the ministry. Premier Fitness Clubs pleaded guilty to failing to promptly pay 38 employees and former employees about $75,000 in wages. Neil Proctor pleaded guilty to the same. The fines were imposed by Justice of the Peace Michael Barnes. In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
