TORONTO - The number of people employed by the Canadian auto industry has declined this year despite a recovery in sales, according to data compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants.

As of April, 123,829 Canadians worked in the auto industry. This is down more than seven per cent from 133,375 in the same period of 2009 and a whopping 26 per cent decline from nearly 168,000 in 2008, before the global recession hit and the Canadian and U.S. governments lent billions of dollars to General Motors and Chrysler to protect auto jobs.

"The most important political variable in the automotive equation and the critical reason that our collective governments dumped over $100 billion into the Detroit Three ... was to arrest declines in jobs," industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers wrote in a commentary.

"Close to 10,000 jobs have been lost compared to the identical period a year ago and remember, a year ago the industry was in deep trouble, so to be down from the depressed levels of a year ago indicates that the automotive and parts sector in Canada ... is in seriously bad shape."

This is the fifth year in a row that employment in the Canadian auto industry has declined. Industry employment hit its peak in 2001 with almost 200,000 jobs and has since dropped by nearly 40 per cent.

DesRosiers said each of the industry's subsectors -- including assembly; parts; tool, die and mould; and body and trailer -- employs fewer people this year than it did last year.

"Politicians should be very worried. We are seeing the (winnowing) away of our vehicle and parts manufacturing sector and I quite frankly don't see much ability for any politician to stop this," DesRosiers said.

Canada's auto sector is largely based in southern Ontario.

Part of the reason jobs continue to disappear despite a recovery in sales is that previously announced shutdowns of Canadian assembly plants are still taking effect.

GM Canada recently closed its transmission factory in Windsor, Ont., putting 1,100 people out of work. This followed on the heels of the closure of its truck plant in Oshawa, Ont., last year, which eliminated 2,600 jobs. And Ford Canada will close its St. Thomas, Ont., plant next year, leaving another 1,500 auto workers without a job.

It is estimated that for every one job in the assembly sector, another six to seven are created in related industries.