Canada: The Unemployed Army

The clouds of unemployment that darken many parts of the U.S. hang heavier over Canada. Last week the latest Dominion Bureau of Statistics report showed that the number of Canadians without jobs rose to 719,000 in mid-February, or 11.3% of the labor force (v. 6.8% in the U.S.). The army of unemployed now roughly equals the population of Nova Scotia, and is larger than the Canadian army on active service in World War II.

The burden fell unevenly across the land: in the Atlantic provinces, where harsh weather hobbled fishing and coal mines were in distress, 18% of the labor force was idle; Ontario (8.6%) was better off than Quebec (14.5%). On the prairies, unemployment dropped slightly to 7.1%, but the Pacific region was still weathered in with 13.9% out of jobs.