An economist by training, Emna Braham is general director of the Institut du Québec, an organization that wishes to contribute to the improvement of Quebec society through “rigorous analyses”. She agreed to present some factors that are currently putting pressure on Quebec households.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The job market
With a historically low unemployment rate and a rampant labor shortage, one might believe that the job market favors workers. This is far from false. Emna Braham points out that historically, the big stress of work was finding and keeping a job. This stress has eased in recent years.
Butme Braham points out that the labor shortage comes with a little-talked-about counterpart.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Emna Braham, general director of the Institut du Québec
Quebecers who are employed, and there are many of them, are often called upon to do more to compensate for vacant positions. This may mean working overtime, increasing your efforts, or being under the stress of completing numerous projects.
Emna Braham, general director of the Institut du Québec
Let’s think about the health sector, where staff shortages lead to compulsory overtime from which the network is trying to wean itself. Or in schools, where teachers complain about the lack of specialists to support them.
Since the second half of 2023, Mme Braham points out that the economy has slowed, leading to job losses in sectors like culture, media and information technology.
“The stress of losing your job may have resurfaced to some extent,” she points out.
Finally, she points out that careers are less “linear” than before and that workers often change jobs. This involves periods of adaptation and stress which can contribute to the feeling of being overwhelmed by events.
inflation
No one will be surprised to see inflation in the dock to explain our crazy lives. Time is money, and when the rent goes up, you often have to work more hours to be able to pay it.
Through the end of 2023, wages have increased on average faster than inflation. Butme Braham reminds us that the expression “on average” hides all kinds of realities. For some, inflation has hit very hard without income following suit. Mme Braham also shines the spotlight on what she calls the “staircase” phenomenon. Inflation increases continuously, but this is not always the case for wages, which sometimes rise suddenly when collective agreements are renewed. Between two steps of stairs, workers can feel stuck.
Mme Braham observes that since the start of 2024, wage growth has slowed, so that even though inflation has slowed, it is now higher than income growth.
Inflation is falling, but it remains high in two budget items that are particularly critical: groceries and housing.
Emna Braham, general director of the Institut du Québec
The tragedy is that these items are difficult to reduce and that they take up a large part of the budget, particularly for low-income families.
Taking care of your parents
We all know the challenges of reconciling work with the reality of having children – going back and forth to school or daycare, homework, soccer practice, colds to treat, the lark. But Emna Braham points out a reality to which employers and society in general are much less aware: the fact that with the aging of the population, many workers now have to take care of… their parents. “We can think of workers aged 55 to 65, who work longer and longer and whose parents are aging,” she emphasizes. This is a phenomenon that is likely to increase because we want to retain older workers. »
Women, underlines Mme Braham, are often those who play the role of caregivers and struggle to reconcile this new work-family reality.
