To the editor:
Re: Oshawa's EI numbers jump 96.4 per cent, Nov. 27.
Oshawa's EI numbers drop 4.6 per cent!
Is that a better headline than the one This Week chose? The funny thing is that both headlines are accurate.
The number of residents in the Oshawa Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) receiving employment insurance in September 2008 is 96.4 per cent higher than September 2007. What the story missed, though, was that the September 2007 numbers were unusually low.
The 4,340 EI recipients in September is the third lowest number this year. It represents a 4.6 per cent drop from the 4,550 recipients in August and a substantial improvement of 30.6 per cent from April of this year when 6,270 residents received EI.
The other factor that the article did not consider in presenting these statistics is the number of high seniority people at General Motors who have accepted retirement packages that includes a period of layoff, followed by a substantial buyout and a pension complete with health care and other benefits. These are not the people who are going to become a burden after their EI benefits are exhausted. We don't expect our local newspaper to be cheerleader for the community, but should we not expect the coverage to be balanced?
Roger Bouma
Oshawa
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