Wages flat, more full-time jobs lost in Ontario

Wages are flat in Ontario, and full-time jobs were shed while only part-time work created – another month of movement deeper into a lower-wage, less secure job environment, according to NDP employment critic Catherine Fife.

The new data from Statistics Canada released Friday morning shows another 11,200 full-time jobs were lost in June, while 5,200 part-time jobs were created. That follows April’s loss of 13,800 full-time jobs. 

“These numbers confirm what so many in the province already know: the shift to less-stable work and paycheques that don’t stretch as far as they used to is real,” said Fife. “And with sky-high hydro bills, plus cuts to services people count on – in classrooms and in hospitals – families are really feeling the squeeze.” 

Median weekly wages were flat, with full-time and part-time workers making no gains. Women in particular are losing ground, with women working part-time jobs earning $4 a week less in June compared to last June, and women working full-time earning $11.75 less than a year ago.

Communities that have lost full-time jobs include Brantford (2,100 jobs lost in June), London (1,700 jobs lost in June), as well as Peterborough, Ottawa and Kingston.  

“Working families continue to be pushed to their breaking point by Kathleen Wynne, who is interested in looking out for herself, her well-connected friends and her own party’s political fortunes,” said Fife. “Ontario needs a premier who is on the side of families. Who delivers services, not cuts. And who knows that the province isn’t doing well enough until people are doing well.”