CIBC Employment Quality Index

Nathan Denette: The CIBC Canadian employment quality index was down 1.8 per cent from a year ago, according to Brandon Sun. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette OTTAWA - Job quality in Canada has dipped to its lowest level in a quarter century, the result of structural problems in the labour market that could prove difficult to reverse, says a new study by CIBC. The big bank said Thursday its employment quality index, which slipped 1.8 per cent last year, was down 15 per cent since the early 1990s. A major Canadian bank says job quality in Canada is at a record low and shows no sign of turning around. The index examines the distribution of full- and part-time positions, the gap between self-employment and the higher-quality jobs for paid employees, and whether full-time jobs were created in low-, medium- or high-paying sectors. CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal believes it far from an easy fix, particularly since quality has largely been headed along the same course for decades. "It a structural issue that reflects the fact that there is a significant mismatch between the skill set that is available and the skill set that is needed," Tal said in an interview. "So, we have people without jobs and jobs without people." Tal study found the number of part-time positions climbed much faster compared with the more desirable full-time gigs since the late 1980s. The findings reveal a descending path in labour quality, a gravitational pull the study author warned will persist unless it addressed. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.