furniture sector canadian furniture furniture industry employment conditions industry employment

As of 2004 the furniture industry in Canada employed some 92,810 persons, more than 44% higher than 10 years ago, but almost unchanged since the beginning of this century. The improvement from its 1993 recession low of just 59,559 is truly remarkable. In other words furniture industry employment has exhibited much resiliency, especially considering the impacts the industry faced since the early 1980s from Canada?s free trade agreement. The more recent employment decline is a reflection of the industry?s slowdown due to the strengthening Canadian dollar and more Asian competition.

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