1 in 7 manufacturing jobs lost between 2004 and '08: StatsCan

A new study says Canada lost nearly one in seven manufacturing jobs between 2004 and 2008, or about 322,000 positions.

However, more than 1.5 million jobs were created in the rest of the economy during the same period, Statistics Canada reports.

The share of manufacturing jobs in the economy fell to 11.5 per cent in 2008 from 14.4 per cent in 2004, the agency says.

The report says employment has fallen in almost all manufacturing industries since 2004, with only a few reporting increases — notably manufacturing of transportation equipment (excluding motor vehicles and parts), petroleum and coal products, and computer and electronic products.

Almost half the jobs in textiles and clothing, long one of the largest manufacturing sectors in the country, disappeared.

The automotive industry was also hit hard, with one in five motor vehicle jobs disappearing and more than one in four vehicle parts jobs lost from 2004 to 2008.

Ontario lost the majority, 198,600 manufacturing jobs — nearly one in five jobs — in just four years. Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Quebec, British Columbia and Nova Scotia also lost more than 10 per cent.

Small towns and rural areas were as likely as large cities to replace lost manufacturing jobs with jobs in other industries, typically in the service sector or in construction. However in small towns and rural areas, such jobs are often much lower paying than manufacturing jobs.

Statistics Canada says the trends are not unique to Canada — manufacturing has been declining in most Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. But the losses were delayed in Canada with manufacturing jobs beginning to decline only in 2004, while other countries, notably the U.S., had suffered significant job losses for several years.

After increasing in the late 1990s, manufacturing employment stagnated and then declined.(Statistics Canada)