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“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

As Benjamin Disraeli said … There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics


You may have already heard the BC NDP government crowing about the latest employment stats – if not I’m sure you soon will.  After all, the following sounds great, doesn’t it?

The unemployment rate in British Columbia was 4.1% in October, down 0.1 percentage points from September and down 0.8 percentage points from 12 months ago. The labour force (‑4,100) and the number of employed (‑1,100) also declined from the previous month. Compared to 12 months ago, both employment (+48,400) and the labour force (+30,900) have increased.

Well as Mark Twain said … Facts are stubborn, but statistics are pliable.  Heck, I have to admit I’ve even used the actuals of stats, to make something sound far worse than it was. 

That said, the above quote from BC’s Labour Force Statistic DOES NOT tell the whole story – and it’s the whole story that counts.  As Paul Harvey used to say, “And now …… the rest of the story”


  • there were 12,100 part-time jobs added last month (October) … but at the same time 13,300 full-time jobs were lost.  To see real job growth that creates a healthy economy, BOTH OF THOSE NUMBERS should be on the plus side

  • those 55 and older will be happy at having a better chance of finding work, than those in the 25 – 54 age demo.  In the first group there was increased employment to the tune of 7,300 jobs.  Unfortunately, it was not so good for those in the second group as seventeen thousand three hundred individuals LOST their jobs.

Using stubborn statistics, we have????  A gain of 7,300, followed by a lose of 17,300. 

Or, a NET LOSS of TEN THOUSAND JOBS!

Taking a look at stats on the quickie round we have:

  • public sector (government) jobs in October are down by 7,400 (I honestly find that very hard to believe) 
  • individuals who were self-employed increased by 6,500 – how many of those men and women however gave up trying to find full-time work and instead were willing to try anything to earn a pay cheque? 
  • the October workforce for men increased by 8,100 jobs … HOWEVER for women, it decreased by 3,400


Finally, let me remind you that as Benjamin Disraeli said …. “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

In Kamloops, I'm Alan Forseth.  If you have a thought on this commentary, I hope you will share it directly below in the Comments Section of the blog
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