RSSeNEWS to be determined...

Policy makers, businesses and job hunters in Canada need better labour market data, Statistics Canada head Munir Sheik acknowledges, but the Conservative government’s budget freeze, announced on 4 March, will frustrate its provision.

The government's priority is to reduce the national deficit and, in effect, Statscan's budget has been cut. This is despite a report issued in 2009 recommending its increase by the special advisory panel on labour market information. The panel, led by Don Drummond, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, said more data should be collected and issued more frequently.

As the country emerges from recession, there is a need to address productivity challenges and reskill workers. The economy is shifting away from manufacturing towards services and comprehensive, up-to-date information on vacancies, employment patterns and skill shortages is required.

The advisory panel report warned that “if we do not develop and sharpen the tools to monitor and predict these changes, Canada will fall farther behind better informed and more flexible economies”.

Statscan’s employment data is highly regarded but users say that, compared with other major economies, it is published too slowly and lacks sufficient detail. For instance, unlike the US there are no weekly employment data reports.

Meeting the demand for more detailed information on productivity is another challenge facing Statscan. The agency collects data but is bound by requirements to ensure confidentiality. “We want to make the data accessible in a way that will satisfy the needs of the researchers but at the same time satisfy our need for confidentiality,” Sheikh said.