Jobless numbers unreliable, says CDC.

• Position: Community Development Corporation - Brief article

A recent report by Statistics Canada reported a staggering 8,000 jobs were lost in Sault Ste. Marie in August. But the Community Development Corporation (CDC) is advising caution when looking at those numbers.

"We really can't support the fact that 8,000 jobs were lost," said Dan Friyia, executive director of the Community Development Corporation of Sault Ste. Marie and Area. "If that was the case, then it would be very, very obvious in the community."

Statistics Canada used a sample size of about 200 households--in a city of 75,000--to come up with the numbers, Friyia said.

Even if the job losses weren't as dire as indicated in the Stats Can report, the city is experiencing "troubling trends" in unemployment...