TORONTO — More Canadians are facing the unemployment line as the recession deepens and companies around the country, from fashion designers to forestry outfits, respond by slashing their workforces.
That’s leaving the employment market flooded with people who are scrambling to compete for limited new jobs while facing the prospects of re-entering the workforce when the economy is shrinking and competition is fierce.
Statistics Canada reported Thursday that Canadians are losing their jobs at a rate that hasn’t been seen since the early 1980s.
However, Tim McGonigle, a unemployed forestry worker from Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, thinks the current recession is worse.
“It’s similar to the 80’s, but during that recession you knew there was an end in sight,” he said. “There was a dim light at the end of the tunnel, but I don’t see that tunnel ending.”
McGonigle worked in the forestry industry for 31 years.
He said the dismal state of the economy has forced him reconsider his options, which include going back to school to upgrade his skills
“I’ve realized that four months with no end in sight is probably a good time to look for alternatives,” he said.