Labour force up 1.8%


The Manitoba labour force grew by 1.8% in the past year after creating 10,700 new jobs, says a Statistics Canada report released yesterday.

The modest growth in the province -- from March 2006 to March 2007 -- fell below the national employment growth rate, which was 2.4%.

"Our growth is sluggish compared to other places," said Opposition Leader Hugh McFadyen. "We're behind Saskatchewan, we're behind Newfoundland and we're behind six other provinces in the country."

McFadyen said high taxes in the province are the culprit behind the stagnation.

"We need to look at what we're doing wrong in Manitoba," he said.

LACK OF TAX CUTS

McFadyen said he's concerned about the lack of tax cuts announced in the NDP government's budget Wednesday.

"In a rapidly moving world we need to be moving ahead aggressively and not standing still, which is clearly what we're doing right now," said McFadyen.

Competitive Minister Scott Smith said Manitoba is growing for the first time in decades.

"We're seeing wages go up because of the shortage of labour," said Smith. "The construction industry is booming."

Smith said Manitoba is becoming more competitive with Alberta and other provinces.

Premier Gary Doer said the province is doing well regardless of the numbers reported by Statistics Canada.

"They bounce around these numbers but we feel generally we're dealing with increased growth all across Manitoba," said Doer.



[ 2007-04-06 ]



Print
Career Zone Home »