In Short Supply: Jobs and Skills in the 1980s

John Marston was a federal civil servant in Ottawa.

This report, prepared by the prestigious Economic Council of Canada, is certainly interesting for the lay reader and is not aimed solely at the economist or political scientist. We read in the newspapers and magazines with mounting concern of Canada’s unemployment problems and the efforts of our politicians to try and conquer this grave national illness. In Short Supply, which studies the problem in depth, can be easily understood. Reinforced with excellent charts, graphs, and appendices, the report commences with an explosive first paragraph and does not diminish its impact for the following 128 pages.

The reader knows that we are, as a nation, presently facing these serious problems with their attendant technological changes — and particularly the growing influence of the Third World countries. The report can only indicate with professional strength that the world we once knew has gone forever, and no amount of “wishing, will make it so.”

We see the way the labour market works and the measures that might be taken when it does not. There are explanations regarding labour demand and supply, both past and future, and the problems posed when these forces do not balance. The report examines the shortages of skills in particular occupations, industries, locations, and time periods; unemployment of particular groups of workers; and patterns of job search. It also points out the stresses involved in societal change and what happens when this adjustment of mechanisms does not function.

Aside from a brilliant exposition of the problems involved, the Council provides us with a most complete listing of its principal conclusions and recommendations. If you want to understand one of our major problems, read this report.