Reports are coming out now that say there’s some kind of an economic recovery up on this side of the border. GDP’s up, consumer spending’s up, housing prices are up. Employment rate? Well, they still scratch their heads about that.
House prices, sales and starts have all rebounded, consumer spending remains strong, stock markets have partly come back from last year’s low, and the job picture appears to be improving with each new report.
On this, I call bullshit–at least in the Ottawa/Pembroke area, where so far I’ve seen a grand total of maybe 15 jobs posted in the last 3 weeks, and was inclined and not embarrassed to apply for all of 4. Granted, mostly that would be because those 4 were jobs you didn’t need half a dozen highly priced degrees in order to pretend you can actually do what’s needed. Folks are still getting laid off, or in some cases looking for work and not getting hired. And yet economists are saying we’re on our way back. Hey, if they’re saying it, that’s perfectly fine–just as long as they feel like backing it up with solid employment data. In the meantime, anyone looking for an IT geek? Resume available upon request.