When it comes to setting B.C.’s 2014 economic priorities, the latest report on employment growth in the province seems to pretty much sum up what’s missing: jobs. Despite a lot of emphasis on a September 2011 plan to support job creation, there’s little evidence in the current employment numbers that the plan has had much traction.
To be fair, there has been some increase in the total number of jobs in B.C. since the plan was first announced, but the scale and quality of that job growth leaves a lot to be desired. For example, compared with the first two years of economic recovery following the 2008-09 recession, job creation currently has been weak. In 2013’s first 10 months, 12,000 private-sector jobs disappeared in B.C.
The less-than-stellar performance of B.C.’s labour market has put our province in eighth place compared with other provinces in 2013.
Adding to the underperformance woes has been the fact that job growth hasn’t been spread across all regions of the province. For example, most of the job growth since the 2008-09 recession has been in the Lower Mainland and Victoria area. That has left other regions of B.C. out of the loop.
When you consider B.C.’s job picture in more detail, the problem gets worse, not better. Only 71% of working-age British Columbians have jobs today. That number has remained effectively unchanged since the September 2011 launch of the renewed job creation effort. If B.C. hopes to get back to pre-recession employment rates, we would need to create about 95,000 more jobs. Currently, we are far off that mark.
The types of jobs being created today are also a lot more vulnerable. B.C. has fewer permanent jobs now than it did prior to the 2008-09 recession. More of the jobs created today are being filled by temporary foreign workers, a change that raises a whole host of new questions about how our province is planning its future growth.
The good news in all of the above is that there is time and opportunity to change things for the better, but it’s going to take a substantial rewrite of how government – and I would include both the federal and provincial governments in this task – not only views its role in the economy, but also builds a solid platform of services, supports and oversight to make sure that economic growth translates into benefits for every citizen in every region of the province.
For both levels of government, it’s time to shelve the idea that public services are something to be trimmed. Public services, whether it’s the planning and permitting side of government or the services to citizens like health care and education, are as critical to economic growth as any ledger item in the standard calculation of GDP performance. Cuts to those services inevitably diminish our capacity to adapt and absolutely undermine the fairness that should underpin any modern economy.
It’s also important for government to acknowledge that skill building is a prerequisite to balanced economic growth. In 2003, B.C. adopted a “new model” for trades training and skills development. That new model led to the creation of the Industry Training Authority (ITA), and 10 years on the ITA has been a major disappointment.
The B.C. government has undertaken a review of the ITA and, hopefully, that review will produce some constructive and inclusive recommendations for reform.
Finally, it’s critical that both levels of government take steps to ensure that equality holds the same weight in plans for economic growth as corporate viability. Reducing inequality needs to be a priority for both governments, and achieving that goal will require new programs and a renewed commitment to tax fairness. Whether it’s improving the coverage and benefits of the Canada Pension Plan, building a solid commitment to high-quality, affordable child care, providing the needed financing for reliable systems of public transit or ensuring that every citizen has affordable access to the education they need to succeed, governments need to draft priorities that ensure that economic prosperity is something shared, not something enjoyed by a few. •
