Good Jobs, Bad Jobs: Employment in the Service Economy

Alexander Craig, a journalist in Lennoxville, Quebec, was a political
science professor at the University of Western Ontario.

Significantly, the French version of this publication is simply called
L’emploi au futur (“Jobs of the future”). The Economic Council of
Canada (chaired by Judith Maxwell) is a body at arm’s length from the
government. Its mandate is to assess medium- and long-term prospects for
the economy. The service sector has been generating virtually all the
new jobs in Canada, so the Council launched this study in late 1987 to
find out what work means today, when “work in general is being
transformed by systemic changes such as new technologies and new ways of
organizing production.” This “statement” is a work of analysis,
but also one of recommendation. It urges the government to be aware of
the significance of the changing service sector, and to take appropriate
measures when required: training, for example, “must become a
fundamental activity for Canadian employers and a fundamental right for
Canadian workers.” Many Canadians, this study says, “still think of
the service economy as “second rank”—as a source of weak
productivity and bad jobs. That perception is true, but it is only half
of the story. The service sector is also a source of good jobs and high
productivity, providing new avenues for wealth creation and new scope
for building stronger, more competitive industries.” Studies such as
this, clearly written and systematically presented, help Canadians
understand the job-creation process. Like other Council publications,
this report reflects the views of the Council’s members, who represent
a wide range of Canadian life and activity.

The economies of the developed world face tremendous change and
challenge at present. Global competitiveness is a constant concern. In
the new interdependent economy, as the Economic Council stresses, “the
distinctions between goods and services are becoming blurred, and the
success of one depends on the efficiency and growth of the other.” A
study such as this, with its accompanying tables and charts, helps
suggest how best to respond to some of today’s most pressing
challenges.