[can.politics] Figures on how many people work in an industry

bstempleton@watmath.UUCP (Brad Templeton) (10/19/85)

What are the sources for figures on how many people work in an industry?
The shoe figures seem OK, but some of the other figures don't.

If you want to figure "jobs created" from a quota or duty, then you must
be sure:

1) That you count only jobs in manufacturing.  You can't count jobs in sales,
distribution and marketing, they would still be there for foreign products

2) That you account for jobs losts in sales, distribution and marketing by
the decrease in overall retail volume that results from the higher prices
quotas bring.

3) You must not ignore the fact that many Canadian firms would still survive
without quotas, and even those that are really pigging out at the trough will
still have some workers.  For example, people who make high-price/high-quality
products are not generally helped or hindered as much by duties.

So watch out when you hear figures about how many jobs are created by trade
barriers.
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software, Waterloo, Ont. (519) 884-7473