Canada gained 43,000 jobs in March: StatsCan; Governments sign Canada Job Grant agreement; Payroll earnings virtually unchanged in January: StatsCan; Nova Scotia budget cancels HST cut; No payroll-related tax changes in N.L. budget; No payroll-related tax changes in P.E.I. budget; No payroll-related tax changes in Yukon budget; RCMP investigating theft of SINs
Canada gained 43,000 jobs in March: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Canada’s economy gained 43,000 jobs in March, lowering the unemployment rate from 7.0 per cent to 6.9 per cent, Statistics Canada reports. The results are a change from the previous month when the economy lost 7,000 jobs.
One of the driving factors behind the change was an increase in the number of youths between the ages of 15 and 24 finding work. In March, employment rose by 33,000 for this group. Employment in the public sector increased by 39,000 jobs, while employment in the private sector was unchanged.
On a provincial basis, Saskatchewan continued to have the lowest unemployment rate at 4.5 per cent, up from 3.9 per cent in February. Prince Edward Island had the highest unemployment rate at 11.8 per cent, up from 11.5 per cent in February.
In the United States, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the American economy added 192,000 jobs in March; however, the unemployment rate remained at 6.7 per cent.
Governments sign Canada Job Grant agreement
OTTAWA — The federal government has signed agreements on its new Canada Job Grant program with six provinces and one territory. More agreements are expected in coming weeks.
Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Ontario and Prince Edward Island have all formally agreed to the grant program. The other provinces and territories have agreed in principal and are involved in bilateral negotiations with the federal government.
The grant would provide funding to help Canadians receive job training at community colleges, career colleges, trade union centres and with private trainers. It could provide up to $15,000 per person for training costs, of which the federal government would pay $10,000. Employers would be required to contribute about one-third of the total training costs.
Payroll earnings virtually unchanged in January: StatsCan
OTTAWA — Average weekly earnings of non-farm payroll employees were $924.77 in January, virtually
unchanged from $925.02 in December, Statistics Canada reports. Statistics Canada revised the December numbers from the previously reported $933. On a year-over-year basis, weekly earnings increased three per cent in January.
The increase in weekly earnings during the 12 months to January reflected a number of factors, including wage growth, changes in the composition of employment by industry, occupation and level of job experience, as well as average hours worked per week. Non-farm payroll employees worked an average of 32.9 hours a week in January, down from 33.0 hours in December and unchanged from the previous January.
Year-over-year earnings of non-farm payroll employees increased in all provinces, with the highest growth in Alberta and Prince Edward Island.
Nova Scotia budget cancels HST cut
HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government will not lower the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) rate on July 1, Finance and Treasury Board Minister Diana Whalen announced while delivering the province’s 2014-15 budget on April 3.
In last year’s budget, the previous provincial government proposed lowering the HST rate from 15 per cent to 14 per cent in 2014 and to 13 per cent in 2015 by reducing the provincial portion of the HST from 10 per cent to nine per cent this July and to eight per cent the following year.
The budget did not include any changes to personal income tax rates or tax brackets.
No payroll-related tax changes in N.L. budget
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The 2014 Newfoundland and Labrador budget, which Finance Minister Charlene Johnson delivered on March 27, did not contain any payroll-related tax changes.
No payroll-related tax changes in P.E.I. budget
CHARLOTTETOWN — The 2014-2015 Prince Edward Island budget, which Finance, Energy and Municipal Affairs Minister Wes Sheridan released on April 8, did not contain any payroll-related tax changes.
No payroll-related tax changes in Yukon budget
WHITEHORSE — The 2014-2015 Yukon budget, which Premier and Finance Minister Darrell Pasloski tabled on March 25, did not contain any payroll-related tax changes.
RCMP investigating theft of SINs
OTTAWA — The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has asked the RCMP to investigate the theft of about 900 SINs from its computer systems after its online data was exposed by a security vulnerability called the Heartbleed bug.
Heartbleed is a flaw in a software system called OpenSSL, which many websites use to protect private information. The flaw, which has since been corrected, could have allowed the theft of private information and passwords from governments, businesses and organizations around the world.
The bug forced the CRA to shut down its online services for five days while it created a patch to correct the problem. At some point, though, the CRA says someone breached its data over a six-hour period.
CRA Commissioner Andrew Treusch said in a statement that the security breach may extend beyond individuals. "We are currently going through the painstaking process of analyzing other fragments of data, some that may relate to businesses that were also removed."
The Heartbleed bug also affected Service Canada’s ROE Web service. The government temporarily stopped online registration for it and required individuals to go to Service Canada Centres in person to validate their identity. Service Canada says full service has been restored for the ROE Web.
