JOB LOSS CALCULATOR

Government cuts are often painted as “painless” because it is supposedly only public sector workers who suffer. However, in every case, the private sector will also lose jobs. That’s because public sector workers will have less to spend in the private sector economy. This is what experts call “the economic multiplier effect”.

The idea behind an “economic multiplier” is quite simple. All it means is that if one person in the Canadian economy changes how much they spend, such as a public sector worker, others in the economy will be affected – such as those in the private sector. You can read more details about this concept in this background document.

We worked with independent economists to study the effects of government cutbacks on the private sector. They developed a formula and an online tool that helps estimate the number of job losses in the private sector when a government cuts its expenditures. We call it our “job loss calculator”.

Just click on the menu bar, choose from the options, plug in the dollar amount of the government cuts, and you’ll get an estimate of how many jobs could be lost in the private and public sector. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about the job loss calculator.