Economy blues poll

[dsaundry]

One of the reasons I posted this poll is more curiousity than anything, I have noticed for the most part Canada is 1+1/2- 2 years behind in our economic structures. I have listened to a lot of b$ coming from parliment hill stating that Canada would come out of this{smelling like a rose} and there was no way that we would be as bad as the U.S.A. Yet I have seen more work slow downs and layoffs where I live, and business is down 10-15%. I think the smaller comunities are taking bigger hits{normal} but I still think we have some more downhill dips to go. I personally have had to cut some of my employees hours or I will have to let somebody go. I have had more people coming and asking for work in the last 6 months than I have had in the past 6 years. So how we spend is sometimes indicitive of this. I find it interesting to talk to people and find that most of the people I talk to say they have definately seen a slow down over the past year. I know there is some business's that seem to fly along regardless of what happens in the economy but if you look at the reef forums there is what appears to be a lot mor stuff being sold and systems being taken down. Just my 2cents.

[Binare]

My jobs directly effected by other companies spending, budgets get cut, my work gets cut. A lot of major projects hit the shelves for awhile but now, I can't keep up and work 60+ hours a week once again. I'm sure the lfs is glad to see my wallet again.

[naesco]

Originally Posted by dsaundry

One of the reasons I posted this poll is more curiousity than anything, I have noticed for the most part Canada is 1+1/2- 2 years behind in our economic structures. I have listened to a lot of b$ coming from parliment hill stating that Canada would come out of this{smelling like a rose} and there was no way that we would be as bad as the U.S.A. Yet I have seen more work slow downs and layoffs where I live, and business is down 10-15%. I think the smaller comunities are taking bigger hits{normal} but I still think we have some more downhill dips to go. I personally have had to cut some of my employees hours or I will have to let somebody go. I have had more people coming and asking for work in the last 6 months than I have had in the past 6 years. So how we spend is sometimes indicitive of this. I find it interesting to talk to people and find that most of the people I talk to say they have definately seen a slow down over the past year. I know there is some business's that seem to fly along regardless of what happens in the economy but if you look at the reef forums there is what appears to be a lot mor stuff being sold and systems being taken down. Just my 2cents.

Hey, you still have a employees, a business and a house. Most of our American friends are unemployed, their companies went bankrupt and the bank foreclosed on their home.

One of the reasons we don't have all the problems is that we have a good government in Ottawa. Don't blame the government. Be thankful we have good government.

[Myka]

The economy got me laid-off a few years ago, but that hardly put a hitch in my giddy-up. Luckily, my line of work doesn't give me much (if any) wage cut when I change workplaces. It's all the same to me.

[cwatkins]

Wife going on Mat-leave is going to slow us down.

[rjengen]

I work in the patch, and yes there was a lot of downturn last year...but it could have been a lot worse. Up here, I think the hardest hit was the transplanted workers that moved here in the last 5 years. I know a lot packed up and headed home for a cheaper cost of living. The thing that saved a lot of companies and enabled them to press on though was the constant development of technology, which lowered the cost to produce. I know it saved my arse, and the other guys I work with...we haven't actually had a slow down at all, but that's just one guy

[dsaundry]

Hey, you still have a employees, a business and a house. Most of our American friends are unemployed, their companies went bankrupt and the bank foreclosed on their home.

One of the reasons we don't have all the problems is that we have a good government in Ottawa. Don't blame the government. Be thankful we have good government. 

Unfortunately the bank owns my house and shop for another 10 yrs or so,..... so should things go south, so to speak, I could lose everything. I have seen techs in my business that used to have no problem getting jobs collecting welfare because nobody is hiring, so while I freely admit that some are prospering I think the majority are treading water paycheck to paycheck.

[Albertan22]

Originally Posted by dsaundry

Unfortunately the bank owns my house and shop for another 10 yrs or so,..... so should things go south, so to speak, I could lose everything. I have seen techs in my business that used to have no problem getting jobs collecting welfare because nobody is hiring, so while I freely admit that some are prospering I think the majority are treading water paycheck to paycheck.

I kind of wonder how regional the persisting economic troubles are. In the Edmonton region there appears to be construction everywhere, the housing market is nearly what it used to be again, and at least in my industry, there's lots of hiring going on again. My sister lives in Toronto, and to hear her talk they're in a depresion out there.

I personally don't think that the economy will ever return to exactly what it was, but rather something different will emerge. It didn't all crash down because everything was running fine afterall. For instance, I don't think the oil and gas industry will ever be what it was here in Alberta again. We'll always have the industry, but you won't be able to stand in any given spot in the countryside and see 8 rigs going at once. The reason it all came down was that the industries in general were stuck in ruts, the companies that are prospering right now are the one's that have diversified and adapted, such as rjengen's employer's adoption of new tech.

As a buisiness person, there's oportunity everywhere right now if you're willing to adopt some change, on the other hand there's ample oportunity to fall on your face as well. That said, many people don't have a lot of control over stuff like that. I'm in consulting, and my field is very flexible, trades people and others who have a necessarily specialized line of work have to hope that their employers are making the right moves during this time of change to keep their companies afloat.