Canada's employment growth leads G7 countries: StatsCan

University degrees increase but trade studies decrease among younger Canadians

Canada's job market has been outpacing that of all other G7 countries since 2001, according to Statistics Canada.

New data from the 2006 census shows that from 2001 to 2006, Canada's employment rate grew an average of 1.7 per cent each year, the highest among G7 countries. Italy, which came in second, had an average growth rate of 1.2 per cent.

Alberta's oil and gas industries and British Columbia's construction industry accounted for one-third of the employment growth.

The mining and oil and gas extraction industries saw the highest employment growth at an average of 7.5 per cent a year and the construction sector had an average growth of 4.5 per cent per year.

The health-care industry saw a 2.6-per-cent average growth and retail saw a 1.8-per-cent average growth. In 2006 there were nearly 1.7 million health-care jobs and more than 1.8 million retail jobs.

On the downside, job growth decreased by 1.4 per cent in the manufacturing industry over the five-year period, resulting in a loss of 136,700 jobs.

The census also found the Canadian workforce is becoming more educated. The number of adults between 25 and 64 who reported having a university degree increased by 24 per cent from 2001 to 2006, while the number of adults who did not have a degree increased by two per cent.

However, fewer young adults were studying the trades than their parents, with 10 per cent of those aged 25 to 34 holding a trade certification in 2006 compared with 13 per cent of those aged 55 to 64.

The census also found the Canadian workforce is rapidly aging and heading toward retirement. The data shows 15.3 per cent of Canadian workers are 55 or older and nearing retirement. With lower birth rates, there are fewer workers entering the workforce to replace of these retirees.

In 2006 there were 1.9 Canadians aged 20 to 34 entering the workforce for every person aged 55 to 64 leaving it. This was down from 2.7 five years ago and 3.7 25 years ago.

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