There are two key similarities between Canada between 1990 and 1993, and now.
A series of junior hockey gold medals is one, but the most important parallel is the r-word.
In both periods, people have had to pinch their pennies to cope with two brutal recessions.
And in both cases, unemployment rates are the biggest indicator of serious financial problems.
Rates jumped to 11.8 per cent in November 1992, says the federal government. Ontario was hit the hardest.
The province accounted for 70 per cent of the country’s job losses during that time.
The country is once again in dire straits. A Statistics Canada report last week says Canada’s economy contracted more than expected in November, with big declines in employment and sales.
Those numbers are expected to get worse. And it will happen quicker than anyone can imagine, says Derek Burleton, an economist with TD Canada Trust.
He and other analysts agree December will bring even worse results.
BMO economist Douglas Porter says “an even uglier December report will likely show the worst economic contraction since the first quarter of 1991.”
The Bank of Canada has predicted the worst will come, and go, in the next six months.
The government says it hopes the recession will end sometime in 2010, though the budget promises are lofy.
Canadians are focusing on the job market. It has already been depleted, as it tends to be the first economic aspect damaged in poor economic times.
Canada's unemployment rate is now nearly seven per cent.
More Canadians received employment insurance in November than they did in that same month in 2007.
While it seems like a dead end street for the unemployed, the solution to this problem is basic: don’t give up on the job hunt.
And stats show many are still hunting desperately. According to ComScore, Inc., an American company that tracks online activity, online job sites are the fastest growing area of Internet activity.
Fifty-one per cent more North Americans have visited job sites in the past year than in 2007.
It might sound obvious, but job searching trends directly relate to unemployment rates.
The federal government says if more Canadians gave up on their job search during the last recession, unemployment numbers could have reached upwards of 12 or 13 per cent.
Canadians were very resilient and limited the impact from the long recession.
Burleton says the number of unemployed Canadians could hit 12 per cent in the next year because the downturn has been so rapid.
People of all ages are losing their jobs, including those with years of experience who suddenly find themselves out of a job.
Young people are also being affected. Many entry-level positions are being cut, leaving many young professionals without a career starter.
It’s devastating for so many people. And the jobs ─which are few and far between ─need to be found. There’s no doubt many people will have to take jobs below their normal pay range.
Many might even venture outside their specialization. But any job is better than no job at all.
If people are more aggressive and eager to be employed, the state of the economy will be improved.
If Canadians can fight through the winter and recession blues, the country might come through this better than expected.